WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., SEPTEMBER 3, 2003 – The March of Dimes announced today that it has relaunched nacersano.org, a Web site in Spanish specifically designed to provide up-to-date, doctor vetted maternal and infant health information for the Spanish speaking community.

“The March of Dimes is proud to provide nacersano.org for Hispanic Americans, the fastest growing segment of our population,'' said March of Dimes President Dr. Jennifer L. Howse. “We believe nacersano.org is culturally and linguistically appropriate to the Hispanic community and will serve as a primary tool for Hispanics seeking maternal health and pregnancy information.''

Some of the topics covered on nacersano.org include: how to stay healthy during pregnancy, labor and delivery, newborn care and prematurity.

One new feature are the numerous recipes – all rich in folate (nutritionally necessary before and during pregnancy to prevent spina bifida and other birth defects) – from many Latin American countries. Some of the more popular ones are ‘Enfrijoladas' (which has beans) from Mexico and ‘Arroz con Gandules' which contains pidgeon peas with rice, from Puerto Rico.

There is also a special feature Just For Dads that new fathers will find fun and informative and a calendar of special events of interest to the Hispanic community. The new site will also offer periodic feature stories on specific Latino families in the United States who have compelling stories to tell, primarily related to prematurity and folic acid.

Visitors can also e-mail questions related to maternal health and pregnancy to preguntas@nacersano.org. All questions will be answered in strict confidence and at no charge.