Premature Birth - Tennessee Report Card Released, state improves to grade "C", from the March of Dimes

News Release
Release Date: Embargoed until 12:01 a.m. ET Nov. 13, 2012

Contact:

Phil Toothman, March of Dimes, Tennessee Director of Marketing 615-800-7179, ptoothman@marchofdimes.com

TENNESSEE CELEBRATES FIVE-YEAR IMPROVEMENT IN PRETERM BIRTH RATE
Receives “C” On 2012 March Of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card

Tennessee Office
1101 Kermit Drive, #201 Nashville, TN 37217 Telephone (615) 399-3200 Fax (615) 399-0039
marchofdimes.com/tennessee

DATELINE, Nov. 13, 2012 – Tennessee earned a better grade on the March of Dimes 2012 Premature Birth report card, giving more babies a healthy start in life and contributing to the national five-year improving trend.

Tennessee earned a C on the report card for lowering its preterm birth rate to 12.8 percent.

“We’re proud that our state’s preterm birth rate is improving, thanks to the work of the March of Dimes and our partners. Tennessee’s progress means that more babies are being born healthy, excess health care costs are being reduced, and families are being spared the heartache of having a baby born too soon,” said Leslie Ladd, March of Dime’s State Director “To continue this progress for mothers and babies, the Tennessee Department of Health and the March of Dimes have set a goal to reduce premature birth by at least 8 percent between 2009 and 2014.”

Here, in Tennessee, the March of Dimes is supporting Group Prenatal Programs, Hospital efforts to end Early Elective Deliveries and programs to address disparities in preterm births that will help women have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies.

Tennessee is part of a national trend toward improved preterm birth rates, 40 states saw improvement in their preterm birth rates between 2010 and 2011. On the 2012 Report Card, 16 states, including 

Tennessee got a better grade. Nationwide, the largest declines in preterm birth occurred among babies born at 34 to 36 weeks of pregnancy, but the improvement was across the

board. Nationally, every racial and ethnic group benefitted, and the preterm birth rates for babies born at all stages of pregnancy improved.

Since 2006, Tennessee’s preterm birth rate has dropped to 12.8 percent. In Tennessee, the rate of late preterm births is 9.1% and the rate of uninsured women is 18.1%.
These factors contribute to improved infant health in Tennessee. It earned a star on the report card for:

• *  Reducing the percent of uninsured women of child-bearing age;
  
• * Lowering the late preterm birth rate.
  These improvements mean 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 in 47 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, who formally set goals to lower their preterm birth rates 8 percent by 2014 from their 2009 rate.
  
  “We will continue to work together to improve access to health care, help women quit smoking and, through our Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait consumer education campaign, encourage women and health care providers to avoid scheduling a delivery before 39 weeks of pregnancy unless medically necessary, says Valencia Nelson, Tennessee Director of Program Services.
  The United States again received a “C” on the March of Dimes Report Card. Grades are based on comparing each state’s and the nation’s 2011 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 11.7 percent, a decline of more than 8 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.com/reportcard.
  
  Preterm birth, birth before 37 completed 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, partners from around the world will mark the Second World Prematurity Day in support of the Every Woman Every Child effort led by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. An estimated 15 million babies are born preterm and of those more than a million die as a result of their early birth.
Prematurity Awareness events are happening throughout November, including Blue Jeans for Babies events in Memphis, Jackson & Chattanooga, Signature Chefs Auctions in Memphis, Knoxville and Johnson City and Macy’s Community Shopping Day in Nashville. Details can be found at www.marchofdimes.com/Tennessee . Other updates & activities include......

• * Established a partnership with the Tennessee Department of Health, TN Initiative on Perinatal Quality Care, and TN Hospital Association to implement a Healthy Babies Are Worth The WaitTM education campaign to improve preventable late preterm rates, please visit http://www.healthytennesseebabies.com/ for more details.
  
• * Continue to fund evidenced based Centering Pregnancy programs designed to improve access to and utilization of prenatal health services;
  
• * Support Stork’s Nest programs to enhance prenatal care through partnerships with local Zeta Phi Beta Sororities to help address disparities in infant mortality and prematurity among African American communities;
  
• * Support innovative approaches to educate more women about the importance of being healthy before a pregnancy ever begins;
  
• * Provide informational support and risk reduction education to families affected by preterm birth through our NICU Family Support program;
  
• * Received more than $1 million dollars in research grants to find the answers to various contributors to poor birth outcomes;
  
  The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 
  

Infant mortality decreased in Tennessee- Now a better Kids Count ranking

TN kids are healthiest in South, according to Kids Count ranking (TN/Gonzalez)

Despite gains, Tennessee lingered among the bottom 10 states for education Kids in Tennessee rank as the healthiest in the South — to the surprise of even some state officials — in the latest state-by-state comparison of the well-being of children.

The 2012 Kids Count Data Book, released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows fewer teens abusing alcohol and drugs, fewer kids living without health insurance and fewer babies being born at low birth weights in the Volunteer State. Those measures placed Tennessee 16th in the nation in children’s health, one place ahead of Virginia and far above other southern states. Measures the state has struggled with in past Kids Count studies, including childhood obesity, infant mortality and access to dental care, were not considered.

Going beyond health, the foundation considered 16 total factors, and ranked the state at 36th overall for child well-being, the state’s best placement to date and an improvement on last year’s 39th-place ranking. But the news wasn’t all good. The study found economic hardship still rising, with one of four Tennessee kids now living in poverty. And Tennessee lingered among the bottom 10 states for education. Three-fourths of fourth graders fail to read proficiently, a decline that goes against a national trend of improvement.

HYPERLINK "http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120725/NEWS21/307250105/TN-kids-healthiest-South-according-Kids-Count-ranking?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CNews&nclick_check=1" http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120725/NEWS21/307250105/TN-kids-healthiest-South-according-Kids-Count-ranking?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Ctext%7CNews&nclick_check=1

A Prematurity Story "Kyle & Kraig Juelfs"

Michelle Hall is a beautiful mother from Memphis that unfortunately had to experience the birth of her twins prematurely. She has overcame a devestating time in her life and wants to inform people about how serious prematurity is. She is a supporter of the March of Dimes, and now she has the chance to share her story below:

"On November 4, 2004, I gave birth to identical twin boys at 25 weeks gestation--Kyle (weighing 1 lb 3 oz) was born sleeping, having been crushed when my water broke and Kraig was taken immediately to the NICU where he spent the next 11 weeks. Kraig, weighing just 1 pound 13 ounces overcame many obstacles and endured many procedures "common" for premature infants--daily blood tests, numerous x-rays, infections treated with IV antibiotics, central line IVs, blood transfusions, apnea/bradycardia spells, oxygen administration, and several resuscitation efforts.

He came home in January 2005 on oxygen, underwent laser eye surgery at 12 weeks of age (the week after he came home), continues to be monitored bi-annually by a pediatric ophthalmologist and annually by a retina specialist. He has also received physical, occupational, and speech therapy. However, he is now a happy, healthy 7 year old and very much looking forward to his baptism later this year!!! He wears glasses for nearsightedness, partly due to the ROP and partly due to genetics.

He talks (and acts) like a little man--he has his own way of thinking, which we call Kraigisms--and he LOVES watching Cupcake Wars (and then helping me bake cupcakes!) He attended special needs preschool for pervasive development disorder and made tremendous progress and will be entering the 2nd grade this year...so well that he tested out of special ed/resource services by the end of his kindergarten year. "

Photo:

Top Left: Kyle
Bottom Left: Kraig at birth
Bottom Right: Kraig current (April 2012)

Very cute babies. It is SO amazing to hear this success story about Kraig. Thank you Michelle Hall for sharing your story with us.

Please visit our website http://www.marchofdimes.com/tennessee/ for information about March of Dimes and to donate to help save babies like Kyle & Kraig.

March of Dimes Hosts Kangaroo Care-a-Thon in NICU

Care-A-Thon Raises Awareness for Kangaroo Care in NICU

The Regional Medical Center at Memphis (also known as "The Med") partnered up with the March of Dimes and hosted a 15-day "Kangaroo Care-a-thon". The purpose of this event was to raise awareness to  families the Center's employees about the benefits of "Kangaroo Care".

What is Kangaroo Care?

"Kangaroo Care" is the skin-to-skin contact between a parent and their child for a long period of time. This contact provides so many benefits for both parent and child, such as bonding and improved outcomes of the relationship.

When in the NICU,  new-born babies are attached to various equipment, wires, and monitors for survival. Although this is necessary for the health of the baby, it is important to remember that these babies need attachment and great bonding to their parent, too.

When was the Kangaroo-a-thon?

The event began May 15, 2012, the 1st Internation Kangaroo Care Awareness Day, and continued until May 30, 2012.  The goal was to enlist at least 15 families in Kangaroo Care during these dates.
A "Kangaroo Care Kit" was presented each time a family "kangarooed" for the first time. The "Kangaroo Care Kit" opportunity was from the courtsey of March of Dimes volunteers.
Also, each parent and their nurse were entered into a drawing to receive a special gift basket at the end of the Care-a-thon.

Picture: Karen Hill, March of Dimes NICU Family Support Specialist and Megan Pentecost, NICU nurse and winner of the special gift basket.

Congrats to all for championing "Kangaroo Care" and supporting the benefits of skin-to-skin contact and care for babies and their families!

For the full article click here-->The Med and March of Dimes Host "Care-a-thon"