November is Prematurity Awareness Month.
Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death. Every year, about 450,000 babies are born too soon in the United States. That’s about 1 in every 9 babies. Though our country’s preterm birthrate has declined by 11% over the last 7 years, it still remains too high at 11.4%. That puts the U.S. higher than that of most developed nations.
Even scarier, are the numbers in Texas, where 1 in 8 babies will be born premature.
Today is World Prematurity Day, where we go purple for preemies to raise awareness for premature birth and how it can be prevented. I donned my purple and headed out to our area hospitals with our local March of Dimes chapter to pass out goodie bags to the nurses, doctors, and families in the NICU and Labor/Delivery.
Eight years ago, the BCS didn’t have any local NICUS. That is not the case today. Families no longer have to leave the cities to receive great care. The facilites at Scott & White, St. Joseph, and The College Station Medical Center, each offer something special to its patients, but, there’s no doubt what makes each invaluable is the dedicated staff working behind the scenes.
So this month, help March of Dimes promote hope for healthy babies. You can also visit our local March of Dimes branch to see upcoming events here in the Brazos Valley. If you have any questions or concerns, email kscott@marchofdimes.com.
To see more pictures from today’s excursion, head to our Pinterest page.