March of Dimes

March of Dimes, Florida Chapter

The March of Dimes is a leader and pioneer in the fight to save babies. They have an outstanding track record of success and are prepared to accomplish even greater things in the future to solve the problems of prematurity, birth defects, and low birthweight. Preterm and Low Birthweight births are on the rise. Babies born too soon and too small, struggle to survive those first few weeks and sometimes months of life. They are more likely to have developmental delays, chronic respiratory problems and vision or hearing impairment. The March of Dimes is dedicated to reducing the number of babies born early and/or too small; programs focus on education about the signs of preterm labor and research into the causes.

Born Too Soon and Too Small in Florida

In an Average Week in Florida

502
babies are born
preterm

84
babies are
born very preterm

323
babies are born
low birthweight

63
babies are born
very low birthweight

Preterm and Low Birthweight Births in Florida

1991

2001

2010 US Objective

Preterm

11.7%

12.7%

7.6%

Low Birthweight

7.4%

8.2%

5.0%

In 2001, there were 26,084 preterm births in Florida, representing 12.7% of live births.

Between 1991 and 2001 the rate of infants born preterm in Florida increased more than 8%.

The rate of preterm birth in Florida is highest for African Americans (17.6%), followed by Native Americans (12.8%), Hispanics (11.4%), Asians (11.4%) and Whites (11.0%).*

In 2000, charges for hospital stays for infants with any diagnosis of prematurity was estimated at $11.9 billion.

In the US, infants born to mothers less than 20 or over 35 years are more likely than infants born to mothers 20-35 to be preterm.

Some risk factors for preterm birth and low birthweight include: previous preterm and/or low birthweight birth, multiple birth, smoking, unplanned pregnancy, infections and poor nutrition.