Grades Are Out: 2015 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

There are, however, communities such as Fayetteville and Greensboro that are trailing behind the states rate.

The US preterm birth rate ranks among the worst of high-resource countries, the March of Dimes says.

A new report says more than one in 10 babies are born premature in Kentucky.

Despite continuing reductions in preterm birth rates, early birth remains the leading cause of infant death in the United States.

The USA earned a “C” on the 2015 report card. Worldwide, 15 million babies are born preterm, and almost 1 million die due to an early birth or its complications.

The organization has set that goal because premature births – those that occur before 37 weeks of pregnancy – are a very serious public health issue.

Black women had a preterm rate of 13.4 percent, native american 10.1 percent, white and Asian women both had 9.3 percent and Hispanic women had 9.1 percent. Reaching these goals by 2030 would save the health care system an estimated $70 billion.

March of Dimes takes each group’s preterm birth rate, then compares it to the lowest group’s average from 2011-2013.

A new report from the March of Dimes, a nonprofit group devoted to promoting healthy babies and pregnancies, shows the premature birth rate continues to decline.

A new report out from the March of Dimes gives Shreveport, specifically, and Louisiana, as a whole, an F for their premature birth rates.

“Whether they decide to get pregnant or not, they need to make sure they’re taking care of themselves first so that they can ensure the best possible outcomes when they become pregnant”, she said.

The 8th-annual report card found persistent racial and ethnic disparities in preterm birth rates across the nation. Tallahassee received a “D” with a preterm birth rate of 11.2 percent in 2013.

The figures is said to be an improvement from the US’s grade “D” which is equivalent to a preterm birth rate of 12.3 percent in a 2010 study by the same organization.

“These health inequities are unjust and unfair”, said Leslie Kowalewski, March of Dimes Associate State Director for California.

Officials say new programs and policies from state and local health departments, hospitals, and health care providers has helped lower the early birth rate over the years.

Dr. Lawrence Prince, neonatology chief for the UC San Diego Health System, said he approves of the March of Dimes’ aspirations.