The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) pledged its support to give more babies a healthy start in life by accepting a challenge to lower the state's preterm birth rate 8 percent by 2014.
 
The challenge, issued by David Lakey, MD, president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and Texas' commissioner of Health Services, and endorsed by the March of Dimes, would lower Georgia's preterm birth rate to 11.2 percent. Presently, 12 percent of babies in Georgia are born preterm.
 
"We proudly join 48 states across the country, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and accept the challenge to lower our preterm birth rate," said DPH Commissioner Brenda Fitzgerald, MD. "We know that Georgia's babies will benefit tremendously from our efforts."

"We don't know everything about premature birth, but we know there are steps that can make a difference, such as improving access to health care, helping women quit smoking and ending early elective deliveries," said Sheila Ryan, Georgia state director for the March of Dimes. "We applaud the Georgia Department of Public Health and Dr. Fitzgerald for taking the first steps to identify and implement strategies to address this problem."

Preterm birth -- before 37 weeks of pregnancy -- is a serious health problem that costs the U.S. more than $26 billion annually, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and one million babies worldwide die each year due to preterm birth. Babies who survive an early birth often face lifelong health challenges, such as breathing problems, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and other issues.

"The Maternal and Child Health Section of DPH is working with the March of Dimes in targeted communities to take a local approach to addressing this statewide issue," said Seema Csukas, MD, PhD, Maternal and Child Health Section director. "The challenges and solutions in one community may be very different from those in another community. We also rely on data to drive our decisions, develop our strategies and measure our progress."

One way state health officials are tackling the issue is by conducting an educational campaign with the March of Dimes to let pregnant women and their health care providers know that "Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait." Through advertising and patient education, women will be advised that if their pregnancy is healthy, it's best to wait for labor to begin on its own rather than scheduling an induction or cesarean.   

In addition, the Georgia Department of Public Health and March of Dimes have targeted high risk areas across the state - Atlanta, Columbus and Savannah - and have scheduled stakeholder meetings with top health officials in these local communities. The goal of these meetings is to identify specific populations with the highest incidents of preterm birth and infant mortality and then determine problems and gaps that need to be addressed within this population in order to make the reduction in preterm birth happen. Meetings have taken place in Columbus and Savannah with the second meetings scheduled to take place in November during Prematurity Awareness Month.

"Our success as a state in meeting the ASTHO challenge will depend on the collaboration between the state and local communities, public health, healthcare providers, non-profit organizations, academic partners, the business community and families. The health of our babies is a measure of the health of our community," said Csukas.

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.

-Story by DPH Communications