Created: 11/16/2009 12:50:22 PM 
Raleigh, NC -- For the second consecutive year, North Carolina earned an "F" on the March of Dimes Premature Birth Report Card, but it showed improvement on criteria that can help give all babies a healthy start in life.
The March of Dimes released its second annual report card Tuesday.
Also for the second consecutive year, the United States earned only a "D" on the Report Card, demonstrating that more than a half million of our nation's newborns didn't get the healthy start they deserved. As in 2008, no state earned an "A;" and only Vermont received a "B."
"Here in North Carolina we are proud of our hard work in smoking cessation and the decline in late preterm birth, and we hope that this will be the start of a decline in our preterm birth rate," said Tara Owens Shuler, March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign Chair.
Criteria that affect preterm birth improved in NC. NC earned a star for:
-- Reducing the percentage of women of child-bearing age who smoke;
-- Lowering the late preterm birth rate.
In North Carolina, the rate of late preterm births is 9.2 percent; the rate of women smoking is 20.6 percent, and the rate of uninsured women is 22.1 percent .
Preterm birth is the leading cause of newborn death and babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of lifetime health challenges, such as breathing problems, mental retardation and others.
