| Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death. The March of Dimes launched its prematurity campaign in January 2003 to bring awareness to this serious health dilemma. This campaign is a multi-year, multi-dollar research and education campaign designed to help families and communities have healthier babies. Preterm births can happen to any pregnant woman and in 4 out of 10 cases, the causes are unknown. The rates of preterm births in the united states has reached an all time high and the chances of being born too early is greater among some communities. For instance, premature births for African American women are higher than that of others. In Wisconsin, in 2002-2004, Black infants were almost twice as likely as White infants to be born premature. During this two-year period, premature births was highest for Black infants at 17.5 percent, followed by Native American infants at 12.3 percent, Asian infants at 11.3 percent, Hispanic infants at 10.6 percent and White infants at 10.4 percent. On average, every week in Wisconsin, there are 1,349 babies being born, of those births 151 are born premature (less than 37 weeks), 94 are born with low birth weight, and 9 babies will die before their first birthday. In the U.S. premature birth is the second leading cause of death for infants during the first year of life and is the leading cause of death for Black infants. Babies who are born too soon can have developmental delays as well as ongoing health problems. In the United States, in 2005 the annual economic cost associated with preterm birth was approximately $26.2 billion. No one is working harder than the dedicated volunteers and staff of March of Dimes at improving the health of babies. Help us help babies by volunteering with the March of Dimes. Get the facts by visiting marchofdimes.com/wisconsin. |
| Community Connection/Pamela Pfeffer November is Prematurity Awareness Month |
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