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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Born Too Soon: A "C" for Illinois on Premature Birth Report Card

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Monday, November 17, 2014   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Premature birth is the leading cause of infant mortality, and while Illinois has shown a reduction in pre-term births for the past seven years, the state still earned a "C" from the latest March of Dimes report card on premature births.

About one in eight infants is born prematurely, and the rates are higher in the United States than in many other parts of the world.

Dr. Louis Muglia is professor of pediatrics with the Center for the Prevention of Preterm Birth at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. He says they are working with local and state groups to build better understanding and prevention.

"There are things that we can do to minimize the likelihood of a pregnancy ending early," says Muglia. "There is an obvious need for further understanding of the mechanisms of preterm birth so that we can devise even better methods of prevention."

A premature birth is a delivery before 37 weeks of gestation. Muglia says these infants face a multitude of issues, including problems with lung development, cognitive impairment, gastrointestinal issues and hearing loss. Preterm birth also is linked to problems in adulthood, such as hypertension and diabetes. Today is World Prematurity Day.

Muglia says mothers who had a previous preterm birth are more than twice as likely to be preterm in their second pregnancy. He adds, ethnicity also appears to play a factor.

"There is about a twofold increase rate of preterm birth in African-American moms, even when you take into account their relative level of wealth, their education level and other health behaviors," Muglia says. "So it's unclear, really, what the drivers of that are."

There are interventions now, that were not available a decade ago, to prevent premature births. Muglia says the use of progesterone supplements in women who had a prior premature birth can cut down the risk of a second one by almost half. He adds current research efforts continue to help identify new ways to optimize pregnancy outcomes.

"Relatively new genetic studies show association of specific genetic variance with risk for preterm birth," says Muglia. "There is some exciting new data on the role of bacteria that colonize our bodies in shaping our risk for preterm birth that is just beginning to emerge."

Adequate prenatal care and the health of the mother are believed to be two key factors in whether a baby is born prematurely.


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