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March of Dimes Statement on the Introduction of the SMART Mom Act
Washington, D.C., April 25 — The following is a statement by Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, President of the March of Dimes, on the introduction of the Safe Motherhood Act for Research and Treatment (SMART Mom).
On behalf of its three million volunteers and 1,600 staff members, the March of Dimes applauds Senators Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) for introducing the SMART Mom Act.
The SMART Mom Act is an important step in achieving the March of Dimes mission, to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. The March of Dimes strongly supports the bill’s goal to improve the health of pregnant women and their infants by calling for more research and public education to prevent pregnancy complications impacting the health of mothers and their babies.
Of particular interest to the March of Dimes is the bill’s provision to expand research into preterm labor and delivery. Since the 1980s the rate of preterm birth has increased 17 percent and the rate of low birthweight has risen 10 percent. Various interventions have been tried with little success. The rates of prematurity are still slowly but steadily increasing and as a nation, we must do more research to find ways to prevent it.
In addition, it is critical that women and their health care providers be educated about what they can do to help improve birth outcomes.
The March of Dimes looks forward to working with the sponsors to enact the SMART Mom Act.
Contact: Christina Manero, (202) 261-7582
Matthew Rhodes, (202) 659-1800
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