Vt. leads nation with lowest pre-term births
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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - Published: November 18, 2009
The March of Dimes says that Vermont leads the nation with the lowest rates of pre-term births.
Vermont was the only state in the country to be given a grade of "B" on the 2009 Premature Birth Report Card, which was released Tuesday.
The study found that 9.2 percent of Vermont births were considered pre-term.
In New Hampshire the figure was 9.4 percent, giving the state a grade of "C." Maine had a pre-term birth rate of 10.6 percent, ranking it eighth, and a "C" grade.
Alabama, Mississippi and Puerto Rico had the lowest rankings, earning an "F" from the March of Dimes.
Nationally, the country received a "D" with 12.7 percent of births coming too early.
The national goal is 7.6 percent of live births by 2010.
Also among the states with the lowest premature birth rates were Alaska with a rate of 10.4 percent, Idaho at 10.5 percent and Washington at 10.6 percent.
"Although we don't yet understand all the factors that contribute to premature birth, we do know some interventions that can help prevent it, and we must consistently make use of all of these," said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes.
She cited smoking cessation programs; health care before and during pregnancy; progesterone supplementation; and improved adherence to professional guidelines on fertility treatment and early Cesarean-sections and inductions.
According to the March of Dimes, quality improvement programs also are key to lowering pre-term birth rates.
For example, the Intermountain Health Program in Utah reduced its elective C-sections to less than 5 percent from more than 30 percent.
At Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania, pregnant women are screened for chronic conditions and risks factors that can be treated proactively to lower the risk of pre-term birth.
A program run by the Hospital Corporation of America based in Tennessee, which delivers about 5 percent of all U.S. births in the 21 states it serves, reduced the primary C-section rate, lowered maternal and fetal injuries and reduced the cost of obstetric malpractice claims by 500 percent.
Also, Parkland Memorial Hospital in Texas reduced its pre-term birth rate to 4.9 percent in 2006 from 10.4 percent in 1988 by establishing a comprehensive, community-based public health care system of prenatal care that targets minority pregnant women.
In the U.S., more than 540,000 babies are born too soon each year.
Pre-term birth 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, mental retardation and others.
A March of Dimes report released in October found that 13 million babies worldwide were born pre-term, and more than one million die each year.
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