Originally published December 1 2005
Statistics show premature births rose dramatically in 2004
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Over 500,000 premature births were reported in the 2004, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, and the numbers are discouraging news for doctors, since prematurity is the leading cause of death among newborns in their first month.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, over 500,000 babies were born prematurely in the United States last year.
In 2004, 12.5 percent of all babies were born premature, according to hospital and emergency care records.
"We were deeply saddened on Prematurity Awareness Day to learn these sobering statistics," says Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes.
"Prematurity has reached crisis proportions, and has become the number one killer of newborns.
The health consequences for babies who survive can be devastating.
We must renew our commitment today to raise public awareness about prematurity, and to mobilize the political will to act."
Prematurity is the leading cause of death in the first month of life, and those who survive often have serious lifelong health problems such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, blindness, and hearing loss.
As much as half of all neuro-developmental problems in children can be attributed to premature birth.
Also, more babies were born with low birthweight (less than 5.5 pounds) in 2004, according to the government report.
The rate of low birthweight babies reached 8.1 percent, up from 7.9 percent in 2003, a nearly 16 percent increase since 1990.
The March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign is seeking to educate women on the signs and symptoms of premature birth, and to promote greater medical research into the causes of premature labor.
The group also wants to have the instance of premature births reduced by 7% by the year 2010.
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