It has been reported that many women in the US, particularly in the South, have been facing inadequate prenatal care, which abortion restrictions, air pollution and extreme heat have complicated. The details were revealed by a new March of Dimes report. The report disclosed that the challenges have led to non-improvement in the preterm birth rate in the last 10 years.
The annual report presented and released on Thursday noted that the March of Dimes gave the U.S. a dismal D+ grade based on the number of babies born too soon last year. Last year, the preterm birth rate was 10.4%. In 2022, it was 10.5%.
The report revealed that little has changed in the past decade. The preterm birth rate was 9.8% in 2013.
According to the report, about 370,000 babies were born at 37 weeks gestation or earlier last year. Preemies are often at higher risk for physical or intellectual disabilities.
According to the report, there are states with high concern: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. The report disclosed that the major concern has been with the state that has been operating without doctors, nurses, midwives, or medical centres specializing in maternity care. Some of the states, it was stated, are located in the South and have recorded the most preterm births.
Dr. Amanda Williams, interim chief medical officer at the March of Dimes, has stated that inadequate prenatal care has reached its highest level in a decade to an alarming 15.7%. The March of Dimes suggested that external factors in premature births also play a role. The report found that more than 40% of pregnant people were exposed to extreme heat, and nearly three-quarters lived in areas with poor air quality.
Wheeler stated that in recent times, the cases of climate change have impacted the lives of the people, which has led to preterm births in the country. It was also disclosed that chronic health conditions among mothers are another significant factor.
Women with diabetes had a preterm birth rate of 28.8%, and it was nearly the same, 23.3%, among women who had high blood pressure. Some experts have expressed worry that the case can get worse as some pregnant women have been going on without any adequate doctor’s care, which has been happening in the middle of the departure of OB-GYNs in states with strict abortion bans.
Williams stated that the government could not ignore the data that have shown that more hospitals were closing; Williams further stated that OB/GYNs are retiring early, and fewer medical students are going into OB/GYN in states that have the strictest abortion bans.
Taken concurrently, Wheeler expressed, the investigation “underscores the need for a real commitment for the research to understand preterm birth as a disease process to offer better therapies and better hope for these families.
