Women living near oil and gas production sites where natural gas is flared may be at a higher risk of giving birth preterm, a team of California researchers reported on Wednesday.

Analysis of more than 23,000 birth records from 2012 through 2015 reveals a 50 percent higher chance of pre-term birth for women living within 5km of the Texas' Eagle Ford shale basin than for women who lived farther away, according to the study...