By Briana Vannozzi
Correspondent
New Jersey is barely making the grade. According to the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card for 2014, the Garden State dropped from a “B” to a “C” mark.
“Unfortunately New Jersey’s premature birthrate increased over the last year,” said March of Dimes Director of Program Services Laurie Navin.
Not by much — 11.2 percent to 11.5. Navin is with the March of Dimes’ program in Newark called Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait. They’re working to educate women and health care providers on how to prevent preterm births and give support for the stages after.
“You could be doing everything right, you can be perfectly healthy or what seems to be perfectly healthy and have a preterm baby,” Navin said.
In fact, she says just about anyone is at risk. But African-American women at all socioeconomic levels are twice as likely. According to the report, they rank highest in the state at 15.3 percent. Almost 12 percent of women with a Hispanic background have a preterm birth. White and Asian women are ranked next at 9.9 and 9 percent.
“Some of the known risk factors are things such as smoking, obesity, being too thin. Stress is a risk factor,” said Navin.
“The people who are at risk are the people who are scared to ask or the people who don’t know where to go or the people who need resources like this,” said University Hospital Health Educator Jasmine Young.
It also increases for those living in poverty, especially if they’re without prenatal care.
When asked how to decrease the number of premature births in New Jersey, Horizon Medical Health NJ OBGYN Medical Director Pamela Brug said, “One of the number one things is to identify women early on in their pregnancy.”
As an obstetrician, Brug not only treats women at risk of delivering prematurely, both of her children were born early as well. She says it can lead to developmental disabilities and chronic health conditions.
“Even as a physician I had that concern, will my baby survive?” relayed Brug.
Now in its fourth year, organizers of the Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait program say there’s evidence its working. The rate of preterm births by African-American women in Newark is decreasing faster than anywhere else in the state.
New Jersey is right on par with the rest of the nation — also at a “C” grade. The numbers have been on a steady incline for the last three decades. But organizers say the push is now on to reach a goal of dropping the rate by at least 2 percent by 2020.