November is Prematurity Awareness Month and Wednesday, Nov. 12, is Prematurity Awareness Day. In observance of this period of time, mothers are casting their votes for healthy babies and asking Americans to join them in signing the March of Dimes 2008 Petition for Preemies in order to put the focus on the growing problem of premature birth, the leading cause of newborn death.

The Petition for Preemies is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the National Business Group on Health and more than two dozen maternal and infant health agencies, concerned businesses and quality management organizations. The petition is online at www.marchofdimes.com/petition.

The four-point petition calls for hospital leaders to review caesarean-section births and inductions of labor that occur before 39 weeks gestation in an effort to reverse America’s rising preterm birth rate.

A March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card, which will grade the nation and the state on preterm birth rate, will be released on the sixth annual Prematurity Day on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Preterm birth is a serious and costly health problem that affects one in eight babies born each year in the United States.

The rate of preterm birth had increased more than 20 percent since 1990. It is the leading cause of death in the first month of life. Preterm birth costs the nation more than $26 billion each year, according to an Institute of Medicine report in July 2006.

Babies who survive an early birth face the risk of serious lifelong health problems, including learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, blindness, hearing loss and other chronic conditions such as asthma.

For more information, visit www.marchofdimes.com.