TEXAS CHAPTER ADVOCACY INITIATIVES

• 80th Legislative Session
  
  • Message from the Chair
    The 80thTexas legislative session ended on May 28, 2007, with several successes for our March of Dimes initiatives.  Our successes involved requiring tobacco retailers to post signage at the point-of-cigarette sales, warning of the risk of smoking and preterm and low birth weight births and important changes to the Children’s Health Insurance Program that will restore benefits to an estimated 127,000 children in Texas.
  • Summary of the Texas 80th Legislative Session
    The March of Dimes had a very successful 80th Legislative session.
    
• Newborn Screenin for Cystic Fibrosis
  Screening infants at birth for early detection of serious, inherited disorders plays an integral part in helping babies live healthier lives. The March of Dimes recommends that all states screen newborns for a core group of 29 disorders, regardless of their place of birth.
  
• Texas Birth Defects Registry
  
  • A baby with a birth defect is born in the United States every three and half minutes. 
  • In Texas, more than 14,000 babies are born each year with one or more major structural malformations.
    
• Access to Healthcare Coverage
  The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits working families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to purchase private health insurance for their children.
  
• Immunization
  Vaccines are one of the most cost effective means to prevent infectious diseases. Historically, the March of Dimes has been involved in vaccine issues, beginning with the founding mission to prevent polio.
  
• Smoking Cessation
  Women who smoke during pregnancy are twice as likely as nonsmokers to give birth to a low birth weight baby. Women under the age of 20 are almost twice as likely to smoke during pregnancy than those over age 25.