PQCNC is pleased to have been able to partner with the March of Dimes and we're grateful for their support in our work in reducing elective deliveries less than 39 weeks.
This initiative was of particular interest to them as both the March of Dimes and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have been urging all pregnant women and their health care providers to go to 39 weeks of pregnancy whenever possible unless there is a medical necessity to deliver early - a baby’s brain and lungs are still growing in the last weeks of pregnancy. Babies born just a few weeks too early are more likely to die during their first week of life; and those who survive are more likely to suffer breathing problems, feeding difficulties, temperature instability (hypothermia), jaundice, and delayed brain development.
A March of Dimes analysis of births between 1992 and 2002 suggests that increasing rates of Cesarean section deliveries and induced labor have contributed to a 12 percent increase in births occurring between 34 and 36 weeks, known as late preterm births.
Working together, we have begun to reverse this trend in North Carolina...
