Ohio Receives “C” On 2014 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

The preterm birth rate in Ohio remains unchanged for the third consecutive year. Ohio’s preterm birth rate was 12.1 percent in 2013, down from 13.3 in 2006, the year the national rate peaked. Still, there has been no reduction in recent years and Ohio again earned a “C” on the report card.

Preterm birth is one of the leading causes of infant mortality. In Ohio in 2012, 1,047 infants died before reaching their first birthday, an infant mortality rate of 7.57 per 1,000 live births. “We must turn our attention to the problem of preterm birth as we work to significantly reduce infant mortality in Ohio”, said Karen Keller, State Director, March of Dimes Ohio Chapter.

The national preterm birth rate fell to 11.4 percent in 2013 – the lowest in 17 years — meeting the federal Healthy People 2020 goal seven years early. Despite this progress, the nation still received a “C” on the annual report card and still has the highest rate of preterm birth of any industrialized country.

“We’re proud of Ohio’s improvement on the report card over the past decade and commitment to addressing the problem of preterm birth. Our success is a testament to the hard work of Ohio’s state and local health departments, our hospital partners and health care providers. It shows that when a health problem, as complex as preterm birth, is challenged with strong policies and bold leadership, babies benefit,” said Lisa Hawker, Chair of the March of Dimes Ohio Chapter. “Through the March of Dimes’ unique, team-based research projects, we will continue the important work of discovering the unknown causes of preterm birth so more babies will get a healthy start in life.”

The March of Dimes is investing in a network of prematurity research centers, to find solutions to this still too-common, costly, and serious problem. In 2013, the March of Dimes established the Prematurity Research Center Ohio Collaborative to understand the most important threat to the newborn health — preterm birth.

Today, a transdisciplinary team of leading researchers from universities and medical centers throughout the state of Ohio are hard at work to give moms and their babies a healthy start at just the right time. Statewide, doctors and scientists from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Mount Carmel, Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals MacDonald Women’s Hospital, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and MetroHealth System are partners in the Ohio Collaborative.

In Ohio, the rate of uninsured women is 14.1% down from 14.6% in the previous year. This improvement contributed to improved infant health in Ohio and earned a star on the report card. This improvement means not just healthier babies, but also a potential savings in health care and economic costs to society.

The March of Dimes attributed the improved rates to an expansion of successful programs and interventions, including actions by state health officials here and every other state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

“We will continue to work together to improve access to health care, help women quit smoking and, through our consumer education campaign, encourage women and health care providers to avoid scheduling a delivery before 39 weeks of pregnancy unless medically necessary,” added Hawker.

Grades are based on comparing each state’s and the nation’s 2012 preliminary preterm birth rates with the March of Dimes 2020 goal of 9.6 percent of all live births. The U.S. preterm birth rate is 11.5 percent, a decline of 10 percent from the peak of 12.8 percent in 2006.

The Report Card information for the U.S. and states will be available online at: marchofdimes.org/reportcard.

Premature birth, birth before 37 weeks of pregnancy, is a serious health problem that costs the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of lifetime health challenges, such as breathing problems, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities and others. Even babies born just a few weeks early have higher rates of hospitalization and illness than full-term infants. At least 39 weeks of pregnancy are important to a baby’s health because many important organs, including the brain and lungs, are not completely developed until then.

On November 17th, the March of Dimes and organizations from around the world will mark the fourth World Prematurity Day. The World Prematurity Network, (WPN), a global coalition of consumer and parent groups working together to raise awareness and prevent premature birth in their countries, is calling for action to prevent preterm birth and improve care for babies born too soon. An estimated 15 million babies are born premature and of those more than a million die as a result of their early birth.

Learn more about Prematurity Awareness Month and World Prematurity Day by visiting http://www.facebook.com/worldprematurityday and share stories and videos about babies born too soon. The page features an interactive world map showing the home place for each story told.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. For more than 75 years, moms and babies have benefited from March of Dimes research, education, vaccines, and breakthroughs. Find out how you can help raise funds to prevent premature birth and birth defects by walking in March for Babies at marchforbabies.org. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.org or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.