US Babies Get A Healthy Start-Preterm Birthrate Strikes Lowest Score In A Decade

According to a new report by the March of Dimes, preterm birth rate in the United States has been reduced to its lowest rate in the decade.

The U.S scored 11.7 percent in the March of Dimes report card while some states earned an 'A' but few states are still experiencing problems. "We're making progress, but we still have more work to do," Janis Biermann, the March of Dimes' vice president for education and health promotion, told The Huffington Post. "We have some states that are doing well, and we have some states that still have some real challenges."

States earned an A on the new report card were Vermont, Oregon, New Hampshire and Maine with a preterm birth rate of 9.6 percent or lesser. Nearly 13 states seem to have improved by at least one letter grade but three states which earned an F on the report card were Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama where the preterm birth rate was 14.6 percent or higher.

"These results demonstrate that many premature births can be prevented with the right policies and bold leadership," said March of Dimes President Dr. Jennifer L. Howse. "Our national progress in reducing premature births over the past five years shows that when infant health becomes a priority, babies benefit. We must implement proven interventions and accelerate our investment in new research to prevent preterm birth so one day every baby will get a healthy start in life."

If a baby is born before the 37^th week of pregnancy, it is considered premature and is at a greater risk for various health and developmental issues. Preterm birth is one of the major factors of infant deaths in the U.S. and the cost covering the charges for the treatments of these infants is more than $26 billion annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"Any improvement is significant as prematurity is a major cause of newborn death and lifetime handicap," said Dr. Roger Harms, an OB/GYN with the Mayo Clinic and editor-in-chief of the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy.

"Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait" campaign which is undertaken by the March of Dimes recommends pregnant women and health care centers not to have a delivery scheduled unless 39 weeks of pregnancy has been completed, provided there is a medical emergency to do so.

Many organs such as brain and lungs are not developed completely until that time and it is very important that these organs are developed before birth to avoid any complications after the birth.

The March of Dimes has set a goal to lower the national preterm birth rate down to 9.6 percent by 2020.