March of Dimes: The U.S. gets a "D" when it comes to premature births

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Vermont is the only state to get a "B". Mississippi has the worst rate.


Childhood: U.S. Draws Low Marks on Premature Births

By RONI CARYN RABIN
Published: November 19, 2009

More than half a million babies — one out of eight — are born prematurely each year in the United States, prompting the March of Dimes to give the nation a D on its premature births report card.
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The report card did not give an A to a single state. Vermont, which has a preterm birth rate of 9 percent, got a B, while 17 states got F’s, including Mississippi, with a preterm birth rate of 18.3 percent. The prematurity rate in Puerto Rico, at 19.4 percent, was the highest in the country.

The nationwide rate has barely budged in the most recent three years reported — to 12.7 percent in 2007, according to preliminary figures, from 12.8 percent in 2006 and 12.7 percent in 2005. The rate was 11.4 percent in 1997.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/health/research/24child.html