LOS ANGELES, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- North America (the United States and Canada combined) has a 10.6-percent rate of premature births, ranking second in the world, according to a report published on Sunday.

    The region which has the highest premature birth rate is in Africa where more than 85 percent of the world's preterm births occur, said the report from the March of Dimes and other organizations.

    The premature birth rate in Africa is about 11.9 percent (four million babies a year), according to the report.

    Rates in other regions are: 9.1 percent in Asia; 8.1 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean; 6.4 percent in Oceania (Australia and New Zealand); and 6.2 percent in Europe.

    Around the world, 13 million babies are born preterm each year, almost 10 percent of total births, and more than one million "preemie" babies die within the first months of life, according to the paper. Premature births account for 9.6 percent of total births and for 28 percent of newborn deaths, the data in a White Paper from the March of Dimes and other organizations found.

    In more affluent regions, 1,014,000 infants each year are born preterm -- 7.5 percent of total births. In middle-resource regions,7,685,000 infants are born preterm -- 8.8 percent of total births. In low-resource regions, 4,171,000 infants are born preterm -- 12.5 percent of total births, according to the report.

    Rates of preterm birth in the United States have increased 36 percent in the past 25 years due to a number of key factors: more women over age 35 are getting pregnant and there's increased use of assisted reproductive technologies, resulting in more multiple births, the report stated.

    "Premature births are an enormous global problem that is exacting a huge toll emotionally, physically and financially on families, medical systems and economies," Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, March of Dimes president, said in a news release.

    In the United States alone, the annual cost of caring for preterm babies and their associated health problems is more than 26 billion dollars a year.

    "If world leaders are serious about reaching the United Nation's Millennium Development Goals to reduce child mortality and improve maternal health, then strategies and funding for reducing death and disability related to preterm birth must receive priority," Howse said.

    The March of Dimes' Global and Regional Toll of Preterm Birth report used data from the recently published Bulletin of the World Health Organization, which probably underestimates the extent of preterm birth worldwide, according to Howse.

    Infants who survive preterm birth are at risk for a number of serious lifelong health problems such as cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss, and learning disabilities, said the report.

    Currently, there is no reliable way to prevent or delay preterm birth, experts said.

    The report is scheduled to be presented this month at the International Conference on Birth Defects and Disabilities in the Developing World, held in New Delhi, India.

    The March of Dimes is a U.S. non-profit healthcare organization.