Premature Births Not Considered “a Serious Problem” by Many Connecticut Residents
10-Mar-03
East Hartford, CT – While the rate of premature births in the United States continues to rise to all-time highs, a recent Gallup Poll survey conducted for the March of Dimes indicates that 39% of Connecticut residents consider the problem of prematurity as “less important” than many other health issues.
When asked “how important of a health issue do you think prematurity or prematurity babies are,” 22% of Connecticut residents responded “important, but not that important.” Nine percent said “only of minor importance,” and 8% “don’t know.”
Although 58% of people in Connecticut said that they know someone who was born prematurely, only 28% said that they considered premature birth to be a very serious problem for society. The March of Dimes said this underscores the need for educational efforts to call attention to the growing epidemic of premature birth.
“Contrary to what most people believe, the incidence of preterm births in Connecticut has risen nearly 15 percent over the last decade,” said Ganson Purcell, M.D., chairman/director of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, and Chair of the March of Dimes Connecticut Chapter Prematurity Campaign committee. “One in 10 babies in Connecticut are born too soon, an average of 84 preterm births a week.”
Prematurity/low birthweight is the #1 cause of newborn death in the United States and in many cases, causes lifelong health problems for the babies who survive. The number of babies born prematurely has increased 27% nationally since 1981. In 2001, nearly 500,000 babies were born too soon, or nearly 12% of all newborns. Almost half of all premature births have no known cause.
The March of Dimes has launched a new campaign to stop this trend. The 5-year, $75 million campaign aims to raise public awareness of the problem of prematurity, educate pregnant women and their families to recognize the signs of premature labor, assist health care practitioners to improve prematurity risk detection and address risk-associated factors, invest more public and private research dollars to identify causes of preterm labor and prematurity, and to expand access to health insurance in order to improve prenatal care and infant health outcomes.
Partnering with the March of Dimes in this effort are the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). Also joining the campaign are corporate sponsors CIGNA, FedEx and the Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute. Media sponsors include Meredith Publishing’s American Baby Group and Working Mother Media.
On Sunday, April 27, WalkAmerica, the March of Dimes largest annual fundraiser, will take place in 12 communities throughout Connecticut. For more information and to register, call 1-800-446-9255 or visit the March of Dimes WalkAmerica Web site.
The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site, its Spanish Web site, or call 1-888-MODIMES.
