Premature Birth a Public Health Concern, Surgeon General Tells March of Dimes Volunteers

Premature Birth Has Increased Significantly in 20 Years and "Requires Our Steadfast Attention," Says Surgeon General

Washington, D.C., October 17, 2003 – Addressing some 600 March of Dimes volunteers from across the nation, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona said today that the rising rate of premature birth in the United States was a growing public health concern. Some 476,000 babies were born too early in 2001 or one in eight babies, often with no known cause.

"Through science and education, we have within our reach the hope of ending preterm labor," said U.S. Surgeon General Carmona. "This is the future of science, and the future of life."

The Surgeon General discussed the importance of health literacy in facilitating healthy pregnancy outcomes and about eliminating disparities in U.S. maternal and child health.

The March of Dimes recently launched a five-year, $75 million campaign to raise public awareness and decrease the rate of premature birth in the U.S. The March of Dimes goal is to educate women to the signs and symptoms of preterm labor, increase research to discover why premature birth occurs, and reduce the incidence by at least 15 percent by 2007. The annual rate of babies born prematurely has risen 27 percent since 1981.