Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait ^sm is helping Kentucky’s babies get the best possible start in life. Working with health care providers and community partners, the program helps ensure that moms-to-be have the care and information they need to maintain healthy, full-term pregnancies.

The March of Dimes, Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute and the Kentucky Department for Public Health are partnering to reduce preterm births in targeted intervention areas. The three-year program began in January 2007. Kentucky was chosen from among several states under consideration because it best met criteria for the program design and implementation. If the program is successful in reducing rates of preterm birth, this model could be replicated in other communities across the U.S. Preventing preterm birth is important because:

• Preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal death in the U.S. and rates are rising: 500,000 preterm babies are born each year, with 400,000 considered “late preterm,” or between 34 and 36 weeks.
• Even babies born just a few weeks early are more likely than full-term infants to experience acute problems after birth, be re-hospitalized or die within the first year of life.
• Many preterm births – especially those that are late preterm – could be prevented by taking action to address known risk factors, including:
  • Getting regular medical care before, during and between pregnancies – including treatment of existing medical conditions
  • Receiving regular dental care
  • Careful attention to nutrition and weight gain
  • Avoiding alcohol and tobacco use and secondhand smoke
  • Assistance in managing or leaving abusive domestic situations, and
  • Avoiding early elective inductions and Caesarian deliveries that are not medically indicated.
• Preventing preterm birth not only saves babies’ lives and improves the future for them and their families, but it preserves valuable financial resources for parents, insurers, employers, governments, schools and the community.