A new report from the March of Dimes on preterm births is out and the D.C. area gets middle of the road to poor marks.
The report gives D.C. a grade of “F,” as 898 babies were born premature in the District in 2024.
The city ranks 45th of 52, including all states and Puerto Rico, with a preterm birth rate of 11.8%.
By comparison, the country has a preterm birth rate of 10.4%, which gives the U.S. an overall grade of “D-plus.”
鈥淚t鈥檚 a dark week for D.C., for moms and babies,鈥� said Dr. Elizabeth Kielb, director of maternal and infant health for the March of Dimes in the D.C. area.
Kielb said there鈥檚 a driving factor behind why the preterm birth rate is so high in D.C.
鈥淎lmost a quarter of women are not receiving adequate prenatal care during their pregnancy, this is significantly higher than the national average of just over 16%,鈥� she said.
For Black mothers, the problem is even worse. The report shows in D.C., 30.2% of Black moms and their babies receive inadequate prenatal care.
What care these moms are getting is often lacking, Kielb said.
鈥淏lack moms especially, their concerns are dismissed when they are in the hospital. A lot of the time, they鈥檙e basically told they鈥檙e not in pain when they are in pain,” she said.
In all three areas, Black babies were more likely to be preterm than all other babies.
The preterm birth report card grades are not much better in Maryland and Virginia. Maryland received a “D-plus” and Virginia a “C-minus.”
Kielb said systemic issues with the nation鈥檚 health care system are also to blame for the poor outcomes for mothers and newborns, and it鈥檚 really showing up in the D.C. region.
鈥淢aryland used to be significantly better, and now it鈥檚 D-plus,” she said.
She said there several initiatives underway in the region to try and improve the situation, including new efforts in patient-centered care, policy at the state level and supporting the Maternal and Child Health force work group.
鈥淲e have to do more. We have to address this here in our home, what we鈥檙e doing. And hopefully, this will spread,” Kielb said.
Since 2008, the March of Dimes has released the report to educate and advocate for better mom and baby outcomes across the U.S.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
漏 2025 海角精品黑料. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
