March of Dimes

1. March of Dimes Mission: • To improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality

2. March of Dimes Prematurity CampaignA five-year, $75 million research, awareness and education campaign to help families have healthier babies.

3. 1. Increase public awareness of the problems of prematurity to a least 60% by 2007 2. Decrease the rate of preterm birth in the U.S. by at least 15%. From 11.9% (2001 data) to < 9.9 From 476,250 preterm babies (2001) to < 405,000 Campaign Goals

4. Five Aims of Prematurity Campaign 1. Raise public awareness 2. Educate pregnant women and parents 3. Assist health practitioners to improve premature birth risk detection and address risk-associated factors. 4. Invest in research 5. Increase access to Care

5. Common, serious, costly medical burden Major risk factor for child illness & disability Nearly 50% of all premature Births have no known cause. Second highest cause of infant death Rates increasing steadily over last 3 decades Why Prematurity?

6. Premature always means too early Premature often means too small Premature Birth

7. Birthweight Low birthweight: < 2500 grams or 5.5 lbs Very low birthweight: <1500 grams or 3.3 lbs. Gestational age Preterm: <37 completed weeks of pregnancy (premature) Very preterm: <32 completed weeks of pregnancy (very premature) Current Definitions

8. Obstetric Previous preterm birth Multiples (twins, triplets) Uterine and cervical infection Major Risks for Prematurity • Medical • Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Clotting disorder, infections, Obesity, severe stress, chronic health problems in the mother • Behaviors • cigarette smoking, alcohol use, illicit drugs use during pregnancy

9. Maternity & related expenses: Often the largest cost to employers’ health care plans In 2001, hospital charges for 26,000 infant stays that were diagnosed with prematurity/low birthweight totaled $1.9 billion, which average to $75,000.00 per stay compared to $1,300.00 for Uncomplicated new born stay. ¹Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, 2000 Prematurity Generates SubstantialHealth Care Costs

10. General Public Pregnant Women Health Care Providers Primary Target Audiences

11. Prematurity is a serious and common problem Only half the cases of preterm births have known cause(s) Research holds the promise for prevention of preterm births The March of Dimes is committed to finding the answers Awareness Messages for the General Public

12. Educate pregnant women on signs and symptoms of preterm labor Support parents in NICU with educational materials Fund community programs focused on reducing risk factors for prematurity Parent Education

13. Professional Education • Work in partnership with ACOG, AAP and AWHONN • Collaborate with Health Professional • Comprehensive risk detection and reduction • Signs and symptoms of premature labor • Provide professional education to doctors and nurses • Advocate for programs to improve prematurity risk detection

14. Increase March of Dimes research funding Advocate to increase research funding for prematurity and related conditions Research

15. Support expanded access to health insurance to improve pregnancy outcome. Access

16. Multiyear commitment Partners and alliances Concurrent activities addressing all three target audiences Incorporating the messages into everything we do YOU What it Takes For Success:

17. Recruit Volunteer Participate in a fund-raising/chapter event Donate Spread the word because…………. How You Can Help

18. Premature Birth:The answers can’t come soon enough

19. Summary of 2002 Preterm Birth Data from the National Center for Health Statistics March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center January 2004

20. In 2002: 4,021,726 live births Preterm Births (<37 completed weeks) 480,812 preterm births 12.1% of live births Very Preterm Births (<32 completed weeks) 77,845 very preterm births 2.0% of live births Overview

21. Preterm and Very Preterm BirthsUnited States, 1992-2002 Percent of live births Preterm is less than 37 completed weeks gestation. Very preterm is less than 32 completed weeks gestation. Source: National Center for Health Statistics, final natality data Prepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, 2004

22. Preterm BirthsBy Maternal Race/Ethnicity, U.S., 2001 & 2002 Percent of live births Preterm is less than 37 completed weeks gestation. People of Hispanic ethnicity may be of any race. Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 2001 & 2002 final natality data Prepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, 2004

23. Preterm Birth Rates by State United States, 2002 U.S Rate = 12.1% Note: Value in ( ) = number of states (includes District of Columbia) Value ranges are based on equal counts Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 2002 final natality data Prepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, December 2003

24. Change in Preterm Birth Rates by State United States, 1992 to 2002 Note: Value in ( ) = number of states (includes District of Columbia) Value ranges are based on equal counts Percent change has been rounded to the nearest whole number. Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 2002 final natality data Prepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, December 2003 Change in U.S Rate = 13%

25. In 2002: The number and rate of preterm births in the United States continued to increase. While the non-Hispanic black preterm birth rate was nearly twice the non-Hispanic white rate, increases occurred among non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics. Preterm birth rates and the percentage change over the past decade vary widely by state. Summary