skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Texas Key in Nationwide Effort to Reduce Premature Births

play audio
Play

Monday, November 17, 2014   

HOUSTON - The latest figures show the preterm birth rate in Texas continues to fall, but the progress is slow and that could hamper goals nationwide for healthier babies. As of last year, the U.S. premature birth rate had fallen to 11.4 percent. In Texas the rate was nearly a percent higher, says Dr. Charleta Guillory, neonatologist at Texas Children's Hospital.

"We have a very high rate of premature births," says Guillory. "Because you have about four-million deliveries in the country, 400,000 here in Texas, we knew we really had to make a dent in that number in order to decrease prematurity nationwide."

The March of Dimes is leading the campaign to reduce the nation's preterm birth rate, with a goal of 9.6 percent or less by 2020.

Often, the specific cause of premature birth isn't clear, but factors that may increase the risk include smoking, some infections and some chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes. Guillory says further understanding of the risk factors and reducing the number of babies being born too soon can save billions of dollars in health and society costs.

"If you have a 24-week-old infant, that baby may stay in the hospital anywhere from three to six months - and if you have complications, even longer than that," says Guillory. "That means the parents are dealing with life and death almost every day in the neonatal intensive care unit."

Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death, and babies who survive often face the risk of serious and sometimes lifelong health issues. They include breathing problems, developmental delays, vision loss and cerebral palsy.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…


Data show Oak Ridge residents pay $2.67 million in taxes toward nuclear weapons programs. (fizkes/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Social Issues

play sound

This year's high school graduates will be eligible for 14,000 new scholarships offered through Opportunity Next Colorado, a $21 million investment …

The new law will apply only to future sales of Indiana farmland. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

Environment

play sound

Traffic deaths are trending higher in Minnesota this year after a decline the previous year. Groups pushing for safer roads are convinced a small …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021