State gets failing grade for premature birth rate

The healthiest way for a baby to develop is inside the mother's womb until arrival time.

However, that's often not the case in Nevada.

Nearly 14 percent of babies born in Nevada arrive too soon and must develop inside a manmade incubator until they're healthy enough to leave.

The rate, while not the highest in the nation, has earned Nevada a failing grade in the inaugural March of Dimes' Premature Birth Report Card.

The report, released Wednesday, grades each of the states and the District of Columbia for premature birth rates and offers some suggestions for improving those rates.

The March of Dimes also identifies factors that contribute to premature birth rates in Nevada. They include lack of health insurance for mothers and smoking among women of childbearing age.

Another issue raised in the March of Dimes report is a rise in inductions of labor and Caesarean sections.

Dr. Paul Stumpf, chairman of the University of Nevada's School of Medicine's obstetrics and gynecology department, said Wednesday that this is an issue the medical community needs to address.

Stumpf said that in some medical emergencies, labor must be induced to protect the baby and the mother. For the same reason, certain emergency C-sections need to be performed.

However, some preterm C-sections are occurring for the convenience of the family, health officials said.

"We need to keep the baby in the best possible place, and that's the mother's womb,'' Stumpf told a group of women Wednesday at University Medical Center's Family Resource Center.

Overall, one in eight babies born in the U.S. -- or 12.5 percent -- is premature. The government's goal is to decrease the percentage of babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy to 7.6 percent by 2010.

Preterm birth is a serious health problem, costing more than $26 billion a year in the United States.

Despite advances in technology in recent years to keep babies born prematurely alive, there's still a risk of health problems, including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss and other chronic conditions such as asthma.

In its report, the March of Dimes is calling for expansion of federal support for prematurity related research to uncover the causes of premature births.

The nonprofit also is urging hospitals to voluntarily review all C-section births and inductions of labor that occur before 39 weeks.

The March of Dimes says the review should ensure that all C-sections and labor inductions meet professional guidelines.

Businesses and lawmakers also are being urged to improve access to health coverage for women of childbearing age and to create workplaces that support maternal and infant health.

Contact reporter Annette Wells at awells @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.