Many Premature Babies Have Lifelong Health and Cognitive Problems, March of Dimes Notes

March of Dimes
Wednesday, 12 February 2003

Many babies born prematurely have serious physical and mental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss, that last a lifetime, the March of Dimes said today.

The March of Dimes comments came in response to a new long-term study of preterm babies born at very low birth weight showing that most improved on verbal and IQ scores as they got older, published in today's issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

"The data from this study are fairly positive overall, but they need to be put into perspective," said Nancy S. Green, M.D., medical director of the March of Dimes. "Naturally, we're pleased to see that these children who received long-term follow-up and specialized care showed improvement. However, we must remember that even despite intensive therapy, the disabilities in many preterm babies all too often are permanent."

Dr. Green said there has been a dramatic rise in the number of babies born prematurely in the United States -- in 2001, more than 476,000 babies, or nearly 12 percent of live births, were preterm (before 37 completed weeks). The annual rate of babies born prematurely has risen 27 percent since 1981. The March of Dimes recently launched a $75 million, five-year national prematurity campaign. The campaign seeks to increase public awareness of the growing problem and fund research to help decrease the rate of premature birth.

"One of our research objectives is to find more effective treatments to improve the lives of babies born prematurely," Dr. Green said, "and, even more important, to help prevent preterm births from happening – the prevention strategy for children."

Change in Cognitive Function Over Time in Very Low-Birth-Weight Infants, by Laura R. Ment, M.D., and colleagues at the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, appears in the Feb. 12 issue of JAMA, vol. 289, no. 6.

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality. Founded in 1938, the March of Dimes funds programs of research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies. For more information, visit the March of Dimes Web site at www.marchofdimes.com, its Spanish Web site at www.nacersano.org, or call 1-888-MODIMES. For more information on the annual March of Dimes WalkAmerica, visit the Web site at www.walkamerica.org.

For more information, or to contact March of Dimes, see their website at: www.marchofdimes.com