This guest post was written by Amy Turci, 2015-2016 March of Dimes Northeast Florida Division Board Chair. November is Prematurity Awareness Month, when the March of Dimes focuses the nation’s attention on premature birth. Activities include the release of the Premature Birth Report Card and World Prematurity Day on November 17. Ask most moms-to-be whether they want a boy or a… Read More

Jacksonville was represented at the Florida Prematurity Summit held by the March of Dimes Florida Chapter November 10 in Tampa. The Summit was held to look at the status of preterm births, identify evidence-based strategies to reduce preterm birth rates and develop a statewide vision and strategic plan to address the issue. The city was… Read More

Too many babies are born too small and too soon in Northeast Florida and across the country and world, a fact that is recognized during Prematurity Awareness Month. But what can we do to prevent these babies from premature birth? Prematurity is influenced by factors like poor maternal health before and during pregnancy, smoking, lack… Read More

In honor of World Prematurity Day and , Coalition staff wore purple and shared the reasons they care on November 17th. Some staff pointed to the sobering statistics and facts: Prematurity is the number one killer of babies under one years old. For those babies who live to their first birthday, many endure lifelong health… Read More

Each year, one in 10 babies in Northeast Florida is born too soon and too small. While prematurity rates have slowly declined across the country, the news locally isn’t good: Jacksonville ranks near the bottom quarter of the 100 largest cities in the United States for premature births. In their annual premature birth report card,… Read More