Produced by the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County and the United Way Healthy Start, Healthy Future for All Coalition, this report examines why it is important to reduce premature birth in Erie County. A premature birth is a birth that occurs with less than 37 weeks gestation. Even if a mother is healthy and follows all of the preventative measures, she may still experience a premature birth. Babies born at 39 to 40 weeks gestation have the best chance of being healthy. We can work to reduce premature birth by addressing modifiable risk factors that make premature birth more likely to occur.