The U.S. preterm birth rate ranks among the worst of high-resource countries

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/modf-mod110315.php

Public Release: 5-Nov-2015
March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card grades cities; focuses on racial disparities
US earns a 'C' on the 2015 Report Card
March of Dimes Foundation



Portland, Oregon has the best preterm birth rate of the top 100 cities with the most births nationwide, while Shreveport, Louisiana has the worst, according to the 2015 March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card, which for the first time graded cities and counties around the nation and revealed persistent racial, ethnic and geographic disparities within states.

The U.S. preterm birth rate ranks among the worst of high-resource countries, the March of Dimes says. Worldwide, 15 million babies are born preterm, and nearly one million die due to early birth or its complications. Babies who survive an early birth often face serious and lifelong health problems, including breathing problems, jaundice, vision loss, cerebral palsy and intellectual delays.

Portland's preterm birth rate was 7.2 percent, earning that city an "A" on the report card and Shreveport got an "F" for its 18.8 percent rate in 2013, the most recent year statistics were available for large cities.

The United States earned a "C" on the 8th annual report card with a preterm birth rate of 9.6 percent in 2014, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The nation met the March of Dimes 2020 goal early, avoiding thousands of early births and saving millions in health care costs, the organization's leaders said. The March of Dimes also announced a new goal for the nation to lower the preterm birth rate to 8.1 percent of live births by 2020.

Despite the long term trend of better rates, premature birth is the leading cause of infant death and the number one killer of babies; and, within states, serious gaps exist among racial and ethnic groups, as well as between communities, the March of Dimes says.

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The 2015 Premature Birth Report Card provides rates and grades for major cities or counties in each state, and Puerto Rico. It also provides preterm birth rates by race and ethnicity for each state and applies a disparity index that ranks states.

Maine ranked first on the disparity index with the smallest gaps among racial and ethnic groups in its preterm birth rate, while the District of Columbia had the largest gaps.

Idaho, Oregon, Vermont and Washington earned "As," 19 states received a "B," 18 states and the District of Columbia got a "C," six others a "D," and Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico received an "F."

In addition to Portland, Oxnard, California; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Seattle, Washington are the only other cities that earned "As" on the national report card.

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