HOMEPAGE > NEWSROOM

Press Release

Upton Works to Improve Health of Nation's Children
Rep. re-introduces bill to lower nation's premature birth rate - 1 in 8 babies is born premature

March of Dimes in the midst of a 10-year, $75 million campaign on premature birth

WASHINGTON , DC – Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, today introduced legislation to improve prenatal care for women and boost research into why one in eight American babies is born early. Upton and California Democrat Rep. Anna Eshoo drafted the bipartisan Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act, or "PREEMIE Act." Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Chris Dodd (D-CT).

"We must do what we can to ensure that our children are born healthy," said Upton. "In this age of technology and state-of-the-art medicine, it is difficult to comprehend that one in eight babies born in the United States is premature. It is essential that we are successful in reducing the rate of premature births. The stakes are too high to fail - the health of our children hangs in the balance."

Premature birth is a serious and growing problem - the statistics are alarming. In February 2004, the National Center for Health Statistics reported the first increase in the U.S. infant mortality rate since 1958. Each day 1,305 babies are born too soon, and the rate of preterm birth increased 27 percent between 1981 and 2001. Prematurity affects more than 480,000 babies in the United States each year. Tragically, premature infants are 14 times more likely to die in their first year of life, and preterm births account for 24 percent of deaths in the first month of life.

Further, premature babies who survive may suffer lifelong consequences, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss. Pre-term delivery can happen to any pregnant woman, and in nearly one-half of the cases, the cause is undeterminable. The costs are also staggering. In 2002, the estimated charges for hospital stays for premature and low-birth weight infants were $15 billion, and the average lifetime medical costs for a premature baby are conservatively estimated at $500,000.

"Although we've made vast improvements in treating premature infants, we've had little success in understanding and preventing premature birth, and the knowledge that we have gained has not been translated into improved perinatal outcomes. This has got to change," said Upton.

Upton's PREEMIE Act is designed to reduce the rates of pre-term labor and delivery, promote the use of evidence-based care for pregnant women at risk of pre-term labor and for infants born pre-term, and reduce infant mortality and disabilities caused by premature birth. This will be accomplished by expanding federal research related to pre-term labor and delivery and increasing public and provider education and support services.

"On behalf of the 3 million volunteers and 1400 staff of the March of Dimes working in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, I commend Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), Representative Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and Representative Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) for their leadership in authoring the 'PREEMIE' BILL. If enacted, this bill would set the stage for expanding research into the causes and prevention of premature birth. In addition, the bill would increase federal support for education and health services related to prematurity," said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, March of Dimes president. In 2003, the March of Dimes launched a $75 million, ten-year national campaign to increase awareness of the growing problem and decrease the rate of premature birth.

The legislation is strongly supported by the March of Dimes, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

###