'Click' to Save Babies

March of Dimes Launches National Prematurity Awareness Campaign With An Online Program to Alert Americans to An Escalating Health Problem

White Plains, N.Y., November 3, 2003—Whose baby will be next?  One in eight babies are born too early in this country, many without warning and for no known cause, says the March of Dimes as it readies the nation for its first Prematurity Awareness Day on Nov. 18.   Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn death in the U.S. and babies who do survive often face chronic health and developmental disabilities for the rest of their lives.

"The number of babies born prematurely has increased dramatically over the past 20 years, with no downturn in sight," says March of Dimes President Dr. Jennifer L. Howse. "We're asking everyone who cares about babies to click on marchofdimes.com during November to register their concern and learn how they can help." CIGNA, a Prematurity Campaign corporate sponsor, will donate $1 for each click up to $150,000.

March of Dimes volunteers across the country will kick-off the online campaign by each asking ten of their friends to visit the site, click for research, and pass it on.

Last January, the March of Dimes launched a five-year, $75 million campaign to educate women to the signs and symptoms of premature birth, raise funds to conduct needed research, and reduce the rate of premature birth by 15 percent by 2007. The total national hospital bill for premature babies was estimated at $11.9 billion in 2000, according to a recent March of Dimes analysis.

Partnering with the March of Dimes in this effort are the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN).

Also joining the campaign are corporate sponsors CIGNA, FedEx and the Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute.  Media sponsors include American Baby Group and Working Mother Media.

In addition, more than 30 professional, consumer and government organizations across the U.S. will assist in communicating the March of Dimes educational messages.