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Methodist Hospitals Works With March of Dimes to Reduce Number of Premature Births
While many medical problems are becoming more rare, the number of babies born prematurely (prior to 37 weeks gestation) is reaching record highs. More than 470,000 babies are born prematurely every year in the United States. That figure has increased by 29 percent since 1981, and accounts for 12 percent of all live births.
Prematurity is the leading killer of babies in their first month of life and is a major cause of long-term health problems, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, blindness, chronic lung problems and more. All health care payers, both public and private, share the staggering cost of mature births. Hospital charges for infants with a principal diagnosis of prematurity average $75,000, compared to $1,300 for healthy babies. A major reason for the lack of progress in preventing prematurity is the wide gap between identifying risk factors and understanding how they actually cause premature birth.
To combat this alarming trend, the March of Dimes is partnering with various healthcare organizations in their campaign to raise $75 million to educate women on the signs and symptoms of premature birth, and to support more research into the causes. Locally, Methodist Hospitals is a Prematurity Partner with the March of Dimes. With neonatalogists in-house 24 hours a day, and a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit which serves as a magnet for other local hospitals with high risk babies, Methodist Hospitals was a natural choice to assume this role. The Methodist Hospitals team of healthcare professionals have helped thousands of premature babies and is now a major participant in the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign.
The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign is a multimillion-dollar research, awareness and education campaign to help families have healthier babies. One of the goals of the campaign is to reduce the rate of premature birth by 15 percent in 2007.
The campaign includes:
- Funding research to find the causes of premature birth.
- Educating families about the warning signs of premature labor and what can be done to prevent it.
- Providing support to families of babies in the NICU.
- Expanding access to health care coverage so that more women can get prenatal care.
- Helping health care providers learn ways to help reduce the risk of early delivery.
- Advocating for access to insurance to improve maternity care and infant health outcomes.
Founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938 to defeat polio, the March of Dimes is a national, voluntary health agency whose current mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality.
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