March of Dimes

Mission:

• To improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality

March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign

A five-year, $75 million research, awareness and education campaign to help

families have healthier babies.

Campaign Goals1. Increase public awareness of the problems of

prematurity to a least 60% by 2007

2. Decrease the rate of preterm birth in the U.S. by at least 15%.

From 11.9% (2001 data) to < 9.9From 476,250 preterm babies (2001) to < 405,000

Five Aims of Prematurity Campaign

1. Raise public awareness

2. Educate pregnant women and parents

3. Assist health practitioners to improve premature birth risk detection and address risk-associated factors.

4. Invest in research

5. Increase access to Care

Why Prematurity?• Common, serious, costly medical burden

• Major risk factor for child illness & disability

• Nearly 50% of all premature Births have no known cause.

• Second highest cause of infant death

• Rates increasing steadily over last 3 decades

Premature Birth

• Premature always means too early

• Premature often means too small

Current Definitions

• Birthweight– Low birthweight: < 2500 grams or 5.5 lbs

– Very low birthweight: <1500 grams or 3.3 lbs.

• Gestational age– Preterm: <37 completed weeks of pregnancy

(premature)

– Very preterm: <32 completed weeks of pregnancy (very premature)

Major Risks for Prematurity• Obstetric

Previous preterm birth

Multiples (twins, triplets)

Uterine and cervical infection

•MedicalDiabetes, High Blood Pressure, Clotting disorder, infections, Obesity, severe stress, chronic health problems in the mother

• Behaviors

cigarette smoking, alcohol use, illicit drugs use during pregnancy

Prematurity Generates SubstantialHealth Care Costs

• Maternity & related expenses: Often the largest cost to employers’ health care plans

• In 2001, hospital charges for 26,000 infant stays that were diagnosed with prematurity/low birthweight totaled $1.9 billion, which average to $75,000.00 per stay compared to $1,300.00 for Uncomplicated new born stay.

¹Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, 2000

Primary Target Audiences

• General Public

• Pregnant Women

• Health Care Providers

Awareness Messages for the General Public

• Prematurity is a serious and common problem

• Only half the cases of preterm births have known cause(s)

• Research holds the promise for prevention of preterm births

• The March of Dimes is committed to finding the answers

Parent Education

Educate pregnant women on signs and symptoms of preterm labor

Support parents in NICU with educational materials

Fund community programs focused on reducing risk factors for prematurity

Professional Education• Work in partnership with ACOG, AAP and AWHONN

• Collaborate with Health Professional

• Comprehensive risk detection and reduction

• Signs and symptoms of premature labor

•Provide professional education to doctors and nurses

• Advocate for programs to improve prematurity risk detection

Research

• Increase March of Dimes research funding

• Advocate to increase research funding for prematurity and related conditions

Access

• Support expanded access to health insurance to improve pregnancy outcome.

What it Takes For Success:

• Multiyear commitment

• Partners and alliances

• Concurrent activities addressing all three target audiences

• Incorporating the messages into everything we do

• YOU

How You Can Help

• Recruit Volunteer

• Participate in a fund-raising/chapter event

• Donate

• Spread the word

because………….

Premature Birth:The answers can’t come soon enough

March of Dimes Perinatal Data CenterJanuary 2004

Summary of 2002 Preterm Birth Data from the National Center for Health Statistics

Overview• In 2002:

– 4,021,726 live births

Preterm Births (<37 completed weeks)

– 480,812 preterm births – 12.1% of live births

Very Preterm Births (<32 completed weeks)

– 77,845 very preterm births– 2.0% of live births

Preterm and Very Preterm BirthsUnited States, 1992-2002

Preterm is less than 37 completed weeks gestation.

Very preterm is less than 32 completed weeks gestation.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, final natality data

Prepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, 2004

7.6

11.4 11.6 11.8 11.6 11.9 12.1

10.111.011.010.7 11.0 11.0

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 MOD2007

Very Preterm Preterm

Percent of live births

Preterm BirthsBy Maternal Race/Ethnicity, U.S., 2001 & 2002

11.0

17.7

11.6 12.111.4

17.6

10.811.9

0

5

10

15

20

Non-HispanicWhite

Non-HispanicBlack

Hispanic All Races

2001 2002

Preterm is less than 37 completed weeks gestation.

People of Hispanic ethnicity may be of any race.

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 2001 & 2002 final natality data

Prepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, 2004

Percent of live births

Preterm Birth Rates by StateUnited States, 2002

Note: Value in ( ) = number of states (includes District of Columbia)

Value ranges are based on equal countsSource: National Center for Health Statistics, 2002 final natality dataPrepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, December 2003

U.S Rate = 12.1%

Percent of Live Births

Over 12.6 (17)11.4 to 12.6 (16)Under 11.4 (18)

Change in Preterm Birth Rates by StateUnited States, 1992 to 2002

Note: Value in ( ) = number of states (includes District of Columbia)

Value ranges are based on equal counts Percent change has been rounded to the nearest whole number.Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 2002 final natality dataPrepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, December 2003

Change in U.S Rate = 13%

Percent Change from 1992 to 2002

Increased 22 to 38% (15)Increased 14 to 21% (16)Increased 1 to 13% (19)Declined (1)

Summary• In 2002:

– The number and rate of preterm births in the United States continued to increase.

– While the non-Hispanic black preterm birth rate was nearly twice the non-Hispanic white rate, increases occurred among non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics.

– Preterm birth rates and the percentage change over the past decade vary widely by state.