Prematurity on the nation's health agenda

The March of Dimes initiated the Prematurity Campaign in 2003 as a multi-pronged, multi-strategy campaign in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. In 2013 the partnership expanded to include the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, and National Association of County and City Health Officials.

In addition to promoting public awareness, advocating for research funds and expanded access to care, and supporting affected families, the Prematurity Campaign initiated interventions to prevent preventable preterm births. In 2012 ASTHO joined with the March of Dimes to ask state health officers to pledge to reduce preterm birth rates by 8 percent by 2014. Officials in all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have signed the pledge and mobilized to reduce preterm birth.

Another intervention is the development of the quality improvement toolkit, Elimination of Non-medically Indicated (Elective) Deliveries Before 39 Weeks Gestational Age, including implementation guidance in clinical settings, data collection, clinician and patient education. Although ACOG issued guidelines recommending against non-medically indicated (elective) deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestation, elective preterm deliveries had been rising. The March of Dimes, the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative, and the California Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Division collaborated to develop and disseminate the toolkit to address this problem.