The Iris Fund works to understand what causes labor in a full-term pregnancy so that we can eventually stop labor from starting early - preventing preterm birth.  Every year, at least 15 million babies are born prematurely. In the United States alone, 400,000- roughly the population of Tuscon, AZ- are born before their due date. The price tag in the U.S. is $30 Billion. The cost to families like mine is much higher. We live in a world where rare diseases are being cured but we can't tell any pregnant family what causes even normal labor.