Join us as we walk for stronger, healthier babies during the 2012 First Coast March for Babies! 

March for Babies – the March of Dimes’ biggest fundraiser nationwide – will be held Saturday, May 5th at 9:00 a.m. at the Northbank Riverwalk in Downtown Jacksonville. Healthy Start would like to invite YOU to join our team and make a difference in the lives of Northeast Florida’s babies!

To join our team and register as a walker, visit Healthy Start’s team page and click the “Join this Team” icon. Friends and family are welcome to join, so spread the word!

If you are unable to walk with us, please consider donating to our team and encouraging others to donate. The March of Dimes supports many of the Coalition’s community-based programs such as the Camellia project, funds the statewide 39 Weeks initiative, and provides other support and educational materials to the Coalition.

To learn more about March for Babies, watch the 2012 video.

The Baker County Health Department — the only provider of OB care in the county — will cease these services February 29 due to budget cuts. Women will be referred to a private office in Orange Park.

Approximately 100+ women sought prenatal care from the Health Department each year.  The county averages about 390 births per year.

The small, rural county, which has a high rate of late or no prenatal care, struggles with access to providers. The issue was identified as one of the main barriers to health care in the 2010 Health Needs Assessment of the county conducted by the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida.

Seeking prenatal care early — in the first trimester — and regularly is vital to the health of babies. Mothers who do not get prenatal care are three times more likely to have low birth weight babies and five times more likely to have their baby die, compared to mothers who do receive prenatal care.

The Baker County Infant Mortality Task Force launched a campaign in May 2011 to promote prenatal care. For more information, visit the Moms Matter page.

For more information:

Health Department to lose prenatal care (Baker County Press)

Action News Jax:

Booster seat use when carpooling is inconsistent despite safety purposes, researchers determined through a study that surveyed parents with 4- to 8-year-old children and was posted in the February edition of the journal Pediatrics.

A web-based survey of more than 600 parents found that most parents place their child in a safety seat when riding in the family car. However, this was associated with younger child age and with the presence of state booster seat laws.

Car accidents are a leading cause of death for children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all children ride in the backseat and those 4’9” and under and between 8 and 12 years old should always ride in a booster seat.

The study found:

• 64% of parents reported that they carpool.
• 79% of parents who carpool and whose children use a safety seat, indicated that they would always ask another driver to use a booster seat for their child.
• 55% reported that they always have their child use their booster seat when driving friends who do not have boosters.

Florida does not have a booster seat law. Find out more information here on where to find car seats locally and make sure they are installed correctly.

The first-ever Parents of Preemies Day will be held March 23, designed to bring attention to the courage and commitment of parents of babies born prematurely.

Each year, about 12 percent of babies nationwide are born premature — 37 weeks or earlier. Babies who are born too early face an increased risk of initial and long-term health problems, including cerebral palsy; lung,hearing and vision problems; and developmental and behavioral issues.

Parents can pst on the official Parents of Preemies Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/parentsofpreemiesday). They can share pictures of themselves and their preemies and their individual stories/

Submissions on the site will become part of the new Hope, Resilience & Miracles banner that will be unveiled at the live Parents of Preemies Day event in Toledo, Ohio. Parents will also opportunity to win several prizes; they will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes for a grand prize and other smaller prizes when they submit a story.

The day is sponsored by Graham’s Foundation with supporting organizations including the Zoe Rose Memorial Foundation and Hand to Hold.

For more information, visit the Parents of Preemies Web site.

Women who receive inadequate prenatal care or initiate care later in their pregnancy are more likely to have shorter birth intervals, according to a new study appearing in the March edition of the Guttmacher Institute’s Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

The study longitudinally linked birth records from 113,662 New Jersey women who had had a first birth in 1996-2000. While most of the women started prenatal care in the first trimester (85 percent), women who did not receive care until the second or third trimester or at all were more likely than those with first-tremester care to have a subsequent pregnancy within 18 months.

Experts recommend at least 18 months in between births to allow the mother to heal and ensure a health subsequent pregnancy. Birth intervals less than 18 months are linked to poor health outcomes like low birth weight, pre-term delivery and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

The same pattern emerged for women whose prenatal care was inadequate.

The study concludes that providers should capitalize on available opportunities with women who delay prenatal care to provide family planning information.