Help give every baby a healthy start!

September 11, 2013

We stand for babies.

All babies.

What does the March of Dimes do?

The March of Dimes is a national voluntary health agency whose mission

is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature

birth and infant mortality.

• Premature birth means a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy.

• 1 in 8 babies is born too soon: 1,450 babies every day.

• Each year, nearly 13 million babies are born prematurely worldwide. Over 1 million babies die as a result of their preterm birth.

•Rate of premature birth increased by 36 percent in the past 20 years.

“Speaking” of Who We Are

Provide comfort and information to families with a newborn in intensive care

Support all-important, Nobel-prize winning research offering hope for preventions and solutions for babies born too soon or with a birth defect

Fund amazing research by the best scientists to learn ways to make more pregnancies go a full nine months.

Fight for health insurance for all pregnant women and children

Push for newborn screening that could save lives and prevent birth defects

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Collegiate Council and Other Collegiate Council and Other College Leadership ProgramsCollege Leadership Programs

Goals:

To spread March of Dimes public health messages to the next generation of parents.

To develop the personal leadership skills to help prepare for a future of community involvement.

To raise funds to help save babies through events like March for Babies

To build a volunteer base for the future of the March of Dimes.

The National Challenge Today

Each year in the United States:

• More than 500,000 babies are born prematurely

• 120,000 babies are born with a birth defect

• 28,000 babies die before reaching their first birthday

• 9 million children don’t have health coverage

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, 2004 final natality and 2004 period linked birth/infant death data; U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Current Population Survey. Prepared by March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, 2007.

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Why should we be invested?The March of Dimes touches all of our lives:• Were you born premature?• Do you know someone who was born premature

or with birth defects?• Did you have the polio vaccine?

Preterm birth costs 15 times that of a healthy, full term delivery – it costs businesses almost $7.5 billion a year

As future healthcare professionals we should want to give every baby a healthy start in life.

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Skittles Ice Breaker • Red- If you were given a million dollars

today, what would you buy with it? • Orange – If you could have dinner with

any famous historical figure, who would it be? Why ?

• Green- If you were not in college right now, what would you be doing right now?

• Purple – What was your favorite childhood TV show?

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