Many pregnant women in the U.S., particularly in the South, face inadequate prenatal care, complicated by abortion restrictions , air pollution and extreme heat , according to a new March of Dimes report.
As a result, there have been no improvements in the preterm birth rate in the last 10 years. In its annual report, released Thursday, the March of Dimes gave the U.S.
a dismal D+ grade based on the number of babies born too soon last year. Last year, the preterm birth rate was 10.4%.
In 2022, it was 10.5%. In fact, little has changed in the past decade.
In 2013, the preterm birth rate was 9.8%. "It's really frustrating," said Dr.
Sarahn Wheeler, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. "I take care of patients who are the real human stories behind the numbers." Wheeler was not involved with the March of Dimes report.
About 370,000 babies were born at 37 weeks’ gestation or earlier last year, according to the report. Preemies are often at higher risk for physical or intellectual disabilities. The problem is particularly troublesome in areas of the country without doctors, nurses, midwives or medical centers specializing in maternity care.
They include states in the South with the most preterm births, according to the report: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. “Inadequate prenatal care has reached its highest level in a decade to an alarming 15.7%," said Dr.
Amanda Williams, interi.