The March of Dimes is 70-years old this year and still going strong, the first walk fundraiser for a cure and from our experience, others have all followed.
Back in 2003 the March of Dimes began a focused National Prematurity Prevention Campaign with a timetable of 5 years. It has been extended to 2020 and the MOD teamed up with the National Institute of Health along with other governmental agencies since they now recognize how important this really is.
The MOD will expand their direct services to NICU-affected families working in close partnership with hospitals. In 2007, we reached over 40,000 families with our NICU Family Support Program and by 2010; we expect to expand from 60 sites to at least 100 across our nation.
This November, we will issue the first National Prematurity Report Card. It will grade the nation and each state on a small set of measurable indicators; Preterm Births, rates of uninsured pregnant women, maternal smoking and the incidence of late term births. The MOD is determined to find and implement solutions, one way is to develop unprecented public and private partnerships both here in US and abroad; medical communities, volunteers, pharmaceuticals and many more groups.
There will be no “silver bullet.”
We have been saying that the rate of prematurity has been rising and now we have the figures: black infants pre-term births are now at 17.1 percent, Native Americans 13.9 percent, Hispanics 12.8 percent, whites 11 percent and Asians 10.2 percent from the years 2003 – 2005.
Despite major expansions of health care access during the 1990s, one in five women giving birth in New Jersey still failed to receive the first trimester prenatal care. Of the new mothers between 2002-2006, 21 percent didn’t have health insurance before pregnancy.
New Jersey made a task force (New Jersey Prenatal Care Task Force) to study this and warned that mothers most at risk of losing their babies aren’t getting enough care. Teens, minorities, unmarried mothers and mothers of less education remain less likely to receive early prenatal care.
The Office of Child Advocate will work with other agencies to increase FamilyCare enrollment, with the goal of reducing the number of uninsured children and parents and to improve health outcomes for our children.
In October of this year, the new National Kickoffs to the 2009 Campaign of the March for Babies began — come join with your companies, your organizations and your friends. Babies are the leaders of tomorrow and everyone comes into this world as a baby.
Come out to the Walk on April 26th at the Louis Brown Athletic Center at Rutgers and help save babies.
Diane Jones, of Hillsborough

