(WHITE PLAINS, NY, Oct. 17, 2008) -- Moms in California are putting elected officials – and everyone else – on notice that it’s time to pay attention to the growing problem of premature birth. They’re speaking out about the importance of healthy babies and asking all Californians to join them and moms across America in signing the March of Dimes 2008 Petition for Preemies. (marchofdimes.com/mypetition)
In California every year 56,368 babies are born prematurely. In the U.S. more than half a million babies nationwide – one out of every eight – are born too soon each year and the rate has increased more than 20 percent since 1990.
The goal of the Petition for Preemies is to get preterm birth, the leading cause of newborn death, on the nation’s health care agenda. Moms in California are leading this petition drive because they believe it’s time for our country to do more to help moms have healthy, full-term babies. The March of Dimes Petition for Preemies calls on federal and state officials, health care professional and business leaders to take action on four key items to help more babies be born healthy and full-term. They are 1) federal support for more research; 2) expanded access to health coverage that includes smoking cessation programs; 3) voluntary assessment of c-sections and inductions that occur prior to 39 weeks gestation to ensure consistency with professional guidelines, and; 4) workplaces that support maternal and infant health.
The petition will be followed by a March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card, which will grade the each state as well as the nation as a whole on its pre-term birth rate. The report card will be released Nov. 12, on the 6th Annual Prematurity Awareness Day and will be available on marchofdimes.com.
The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. Its mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com.