Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait Initiative Offers Hope for Improvement
New Kentucky Legislative Caucus to Fight Premature Births

FRANKFORT, KY, NOV. 12, 2008 -- The United States is failing hundreds of thousands of its youngest citizens on the day they are born, according to the March of Dimes. Kentucky faces a crisis level of premature births that is driving up health care costs and special education budgets; preventive action is needed starting now.

In the first of what will be an annual Premature Birth Report Card, the nation received a “D” and not a single state earned an “A,” when the March of Dimes compared actual preterm birth rates to the national Healthy People 2010 objective. The grade of “F” indicates how far Kentucky, with a preterm birth rate of 15.2 percent, is from the Healthy People 2010 objective of 7.6 percent of all live births. Latest available data (2005) shows that the national preterm birth rate is 12.7 percent. 

A new legislative caucus is being formed to focus the efforts of the Kentucky General Assembly on the Commonwealth’s preterm birth crisis.  At a news conference today at 3:30 PM EST in the Rotunda of the Kentucky State Capitol, a group of Kentucky lawmakers, joined by the leaders of several top Kentucky health care organizations, will announce the formation of the new Healthy Babies Caucus and the implications of the Premature Birth Report Card for Kentucky’s families.

Kentucky is the only state in the nation that is participating in an innovative new initiative aimed at lowering its prematurity rate in selected areas by 15 percent. Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait, a partnership of the March of Dimes, Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute, and the Kentucky Department for Public Health, is currently underway at three sites: King’s Daughters’ Medical Center in Ashland; Trover Health System's Regional Medical Center of Hopkins County; and The University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital in Lexington.

Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait brings together the most up-to-date approaches for preventing preterm birth, as no single intervention is adequate to address the complex causes of this serious problem. Kentucky was chosen for the pilot after a nationwide successful, the interventions and lessons learned could make a difference if applied to other states in the country with high rates of preterm birth. “If Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait is successful, the interventions and lessons learned could make a difference if applied to other states in the country with high rates of preterm birth," according to Diane Ashton, M.D., MPH, FACOG, Deputy Medical Director of the March of Dimes.

“It is unacceptable that our nation is failing so many preterm babies,” said Jennifer L. Howse, PhD, president of the March of Dimes. “We are determined to find and implement solutions to prevent preterm birth, based on research, best clinical practices, and improved education for moms.”

Kentucky will also be host of the Prematurity Summit on Tuesday, November 18, from 9:00am to 4:30pm, at the Galt House Hotel and Suites in downtown Louisville. The event is being hosted by the Greater Kentucky Chapter of the March of Dimes, and is jointly sponsored by Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait, and Kosair Children’s Hospital - a part of Norton Healthcare. 

“The Report Card illustrates the importance of ensuring every pregnant woman in Kentucky has access to health coverage by expanding KCHIP, and it further stresses the value of smoking prevention and cessation,” said Lisa Herzberg Echsner, State Director for the Greater Kentucky Chapter. “Particularly in regards to smoking, the March of Dimes will bring before the legislature a proposal to increase the cigarette tax.”

The Report Card also calls for:
• Expanded federal support for prematurity-related research to uncover the causes of premature birth and lead not only to strategies for prevention, but also improved care and outcomes for preterm infants.
• Hospital leaders to voluntarily review all Cesarean-section births and inductions of labor that occur before 39 weeks gestation, in an effort to reverse America’s rising preterm birth rate. The review should ensure that all c-sections and inductions meet established professional guidelines.
• Policymakers to improve access to health coverage for women of childbearing age and to support smoking cessation programs as part of maternity care.
• Businesses to create workplaces that support maternal and infant health, such as providing private areas to pump breast milk, access to flextime, and information about how to have a healthy pregnancy and childbirth.

In this election year, the March of Dimes invites all Americans to help send a message to our new President and to federal and state lawmakers by signing the 2008 Petition for Preemies at marchofdimes.com/petition.
The purpose of the Petition and the Report Card is to raise public awareness of the growing crisis of preterm birth so elected and appointed officials will commit more resources to address this problem and policymakers will support development of strategies that benefit mothers and babies.

The Report Card also is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of Women’s Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the National Business Group on Health, the American Benefits Council and dozens of other businesses and maternal and infant health organizations. 

Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death in the United States and a major cause of lifelong disability. The preterm birth rate has increased more than 20 percent since 1990 and costs the nation more than $26 billion a year, according to the Institute of Medicine report issued in July 2006. 

Babies who survive a premature birth face the risk of serious life-long health problems including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss, and other chronic conditions including asthma. Even infants born just a few weeks too soon have a greater risk of breathing problems, feeding difficulties, temperature instability (hypothermia), jaundice and delayed brain development.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health.  Its mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.  For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.