Nov. 17--Each day, one more baby is born on time in Utah thanks to better prenatal care, fewer women smoking and less frequent induced births, a new report shows.
Utah's premature birth rate dropped slightly, from 11.5 percent to 10.9 percent in 2007, earning the state a C grade from the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card on Tuesday. That's an improvement from last year, when Utah earned a D.
"This is something to be excited about," Jeff Bird, state director of the March of Dimes' Utah chapter, said at a news conference at University Hospital. "It's a step toward healthier babies."
The grade is based on how closely -- or not -- states are to meeting the national 2010 goal to reduce the premature birth rate to 7.6 percent. Premature babies often end up in newborn intensive care units and suffer multiple, lifelong health problems. Preterm birth is estimated to cost $26 billion a year in the United States in medical, educational and lost productivity costs. Prematurity is also the leading cause of newborn death.
Utah will not meet the national target next year, acknowledged Stephen McDonald, Utah chapter spokesman. But he hopes the drop is the "beginning of a trend."
Doctors and researchers don't know all the reasons for premature births, but they have zeroed in on risk factors such as smoking, insufficient prenatal care and what is called late preterm birth, which describes babies born between 34 and 37 weeks gestation. A full-term
baby is 40 weeks.
Those early deliveries make up the bulk of the state's premature births. They happen because the mother spontaneously goes into labor, or she has to be medically induced because of health problems. Other times it's by choice of the doctor or the mother.
Hospitals are working to reduce elective inductions. The national March of Dimes organization noted Tuesday that Intermountain Healthcare reduced elective inductions before 39 weeks from 30 percent to 2 percent.
Bob Silver, chief of the U.'s division of maternal-fetal medicine, which cares for high-risk pregnant women, said University Hospital also scrutinizes elective inductions. A birth scheduled before week 39 is reviewed by a panel of doctors, for example.
Overall, the number of late preterm births in Utah was down to 8.3 percent in 2007.
Utah also saw a reduction in the percentage of women ages 18 to 44 who smoke, to 8.5 percent, the lowest in the nation.
And the percent of uninsured women dipped to 17.7 percent, about a percentage point.
Nevertheless, about 6,000 babies will be born prematurely in Utah this year.
Patty Johnson is the mother of two of them. The Tooele mother had to be induced 15 weeks early with twins because she had preeclampsia, or high blood pressure. Her daughter, Lauren, didn't survive. Her son, Ryan, remains in intensive care nearly four months later. Born weighing 1 pound, 6 ounces, he needed open heart surgery when he was 10 days old, couldn't be held until he was 6 weeks old and didn't cry until he was 2 months old. He was intubated and on a ventilator and now has chronic lung disease.
Johnson said she hopes to take him home this year. She quit her job so she could be with him eight hours a day.
She said he's endured more pain during his short life than most adults, but she feels like she has been watching a miracle as she watches over him.
"He will make a difference in the world [because] he has learned to be brave and strong," she said.
Overall, March of Dimes gave the United States a D grade for 12.7 percent of babies born premature. No state earned an A; only Vermont snagged a B. Utah was one of seven states that improved grades over last year, the first year the organization doled out report cards.
hmay@sltrib.com
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