The national preterm birth rate fell to 11.4 percent in 2013 – the lowest in 17 years -- meeting the federal Healthy People 2020 goal seven years early. Despite this progress, the U.S. still received a “C” on the 7th annual March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card because it fell short of the more-challenging 9.6 percent target set by the March of Dimes, the group said today.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/65164-march-of-dimes-march-for-babies-2014/
An estimated 15 million babies around the world are born premature each year and more than one million of them do not survive their early birth. Although the United States has seen sustained improvement in its preterm birth rate, it has one of the highest rates of preterm birth of any industrialized country.
Next month, organizations and individuals around the globe will observe Prematurity Awareness Month and World Prematurity Day. World-famous photographer Anne Geddes, and international superstars Thalia and Hilary Duff, will join other celebrity parents to spread the word that premature birth is a very serious health problem for babies worldwide.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/65164-march-of-dimes-march-for-babies-2014/
The health of babies in the United States has taken a step backward as the nation’s preterm birth rate worsened for the first time in eight years, the March of Dimes said today. The U.S. earned a “C” grade on the latest March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card amidst widening differences in prematurity rates across different races and ethnicities.
“The 2016 March of Dimes Report Card demonstrates that there is an unfair burden of premature birth among specific racial and ethnic groups as well as geographic areas,” says Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes. “The March of Dimes strives for a world where every baby has a fair chance, yet we see this is not the reality for many mothers and babies. Babies in this country have different chances of surviving and thriving simply based on the circumstances of their birth.”
The U.S. preterm birth rate went up from 9.57 to 9.63 in 2015, according to final data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Across the country, preterm birth rates were nearly 48 percent higher among black women and more than 15 percent higher among American Indian/Alaska Native women compared to white women.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7945951-march-of-dimes-premature-birth-report/
