I can tell you that your state did not earn an “A” in the Premature Births Report Card released this week and I don’t even know where you live. That’s because, sadly, no state earned an “A” this year.

According to the government’s Healthy People 2010 campaign, the goal is to reduce preterm births down to 7.6% and the overall U.S. rate in 2007 was 12.7%! That earned the U.S., on the whole, a “D” grade on the report card. Vermont was the ONLY state to earn a “B”. According to Health.com, “Seven states — Arizona, Indiana, Missouri, Idaho, Massachusetts, Utah and Wisconsin — improved their grade year over year. However, Ohio’s and Oklahoma’s grades dropped.” I’m embarrassed to say the state I live in, Ohio, earned an “F” even though our facilities are supposedly very good. However, the statistics are delayed by two years (which is why I am citing 2007 numbers) and in March 2007, Ohio created Ohio Perinatal Quality Collaborative, whose sole purpose is to reduce preterm births in Ohio.

Since we don’t know all the reasons why babies are born premature, most states have been targeting the things they can influence such as pregnant women who smoke and elective inductions or c-sections before 34 weeks of pregnancy.

Since last time I already went over the fact that 1,400 babies are born premature every single day, in the U.S. alone, and what you can do to reduce your risk for a premature birth, today I thought I’d share a few stories I found during the March of Dimes Prematurity Awareness Month Fight for Preemies Bloggers Unite Event:

Kerry –
A wonderful and touching story looking at both the negatives and positives about having a premature twins.

Phoebe –
A courageous post from a teen mom who went through a very scary and painful ordeal. Her story is still in progress, and I can’t wait to read the rest.

Melissa –
A mom who bravely shares her story of how her son was born 5 weeks early because she smoked in pregnancy and had an eating disorder. She shares how it actually saved her life.

Jael –
Shares a story of her best friend whose baby came early, struggled to breathe on his own, was jaundiced, and spent months in the NICU.

 
Please take time this month for the March of Dimes Prematurity Awareness Month and share knowledge you have gained with other parents. You can save a life! Thank you!

Tags: babies premature, born premature, march of dimes, premature survival rates, prematurity awareness month, prematurity babies

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 8:00 AM and is filed under premature baby. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.