TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Edited Press Release -- March of Dimes

For the second consecutive year, California earned  a “C” from the March of Dimes for its preterm birth rate. 

While the state did not improve its preterm birth rate, some factors that can help moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies did improve.

“We hope that by reducing risk factors, we will see our state’s rate of premature births improve in the future,” said Dr. Elliott Main, March of Dimes volunteer. “The March of Dimes supports research, local community grants, NICU Family Support programs, education projects and advocacy initiatives across the state that work to prevent preterm birth and help moms have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies.”

The March of Dimes released its 2010 report card today, the eighth annual Prematurity Awareness Day, when the nation is asked to focus its attention on the serious problem of premature birth. In California, 1 in 10 babies were born too soon, before their lungs, brains or other organs were fully developed. Factors that contribute to preterm birth also improved in California. It earned a star for:

·         Reducing the percentage of childbearing age who smoke;

·         Lowering the late preterm birth rate.

In California, the rate of late preterm births decreased from 7.9 percent to 7.7 percent between 2007 and 2008. And  last year, 10.1 percent of women of childbearing age (18-44) reported smoking, a decrease from 11.4 percent in 2008.

In 2007, 2008 and 2009, nearly 1 in 4 California women of childbearing age (23.9 percent) had no insurance, reflecting an increase from 22.7 percent during 2006 and 2007.

Following three decades of increases, in 2008 the nation achieved the first two-year decline in the preterm birth rate, when the preliminary preterm birth rate dropped to 12.3 percent. However, the March of Dimes says the rate is still too far from the Healthy People 2010 goal of 7.6 percent and gave the nation a “D”.

More than a half-million babies still are born preterm each year, a serious health problem that costs the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. 

Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive often face lifetime health challenges, including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities. Even infants born just a few weeks early have higher rates of hospitalization and illness than full-term infants. The last few weeks of pregnancy are critical to a baby’s health because many important organs, including the brain and lungs, are not completely developed until then.

There are known strategies that can lower the risk of an early birth, such as smoking cessation, preconception care, early prenatal care, progesterone treatments for women with a history of preterm birth, avoiding multiples from fertility treatments and avoiding unnecessary c-sections and inductions before 39 weeks.

The March of Dimes recently released a tool kit to lower the number of medically unnecessary c-sections and inductions done before 39 weeks gestation. It is available from the March of Dimes website.