The March of Dimes has given Utah a D in its first ranking of states in terms of premature birth.

The state's preterm birthrate is 11.4 percent, making it No. 14. No state earned an A, and only one, Vermont, received a B. Eight states were given a C and 23 a D. The other 18 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia all received an F.

Grades were determined by comparing the states' prematurity rates with the national Healthy People 2010 objective of 7.6 percent of all live births. Nationally, 12.7 percent of live births are preterm.

Each year, more than a half million preterm babies are born, and it's the leading cause of death for newborns, according to Amy L. Hansen, director of the Utah March of Dimes chapter. "The United States is failing our tiniest and youngest citizens on the very day they are born," she said.

The national report contains four recommendations: federal support for more research, expanded access to health-care coverage, voluntary review by hospitals of their policies on Caesarean sections and elective inductions and workplace support for maternal-fetal health.

Right now, despite the best efforts of the medical community, the prematurity rate continues to increase, said Dr. Michael Varner, whose many titles include vice chairman for research in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah. It's gone up about 20 percent since 1990, particularly among late preterm births, those babies delivered at 34 to 37 weeks. Expert guidelines call for no elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks. It's important because babies' brains and lungs are still developing. While survival rates are good at the stage, babies still may have many problems, some not apparent for years.

Among those known to increase, even with late-term preemies, are jaundice, long-term learning, developmental disabilities, respiratory problems and more, he said. Babies gain one-third of their weight in the last five weeks of the pregnancy.

Having already delivered a baby too soon is the biggest risk factor for preterm birth, according to Dr. Sean Esplin, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Intermountain Medical Center. Other factors include being overweight or underweight, smoking and too short a time (less than 18 months) between pregnancies.

Kristin Schalk knows all about the difficulties that go with prematurity. On New Year's Day four years ago, she delivered 1-pound, 12-ounce Ashlynn a whopping 15 weeks early. The baby spent her first 4 1/2 months in newborn intensive care. "I know how painful it is to leave the hospital without babies," she said during a news conference announcing the report card Wednesday at IMC.

She's among a large group of mothers calling on people to sign an online petition at marchofdimes.com asking Congress to prioritize prematurity with research dollars and baby-friendly policies. Signing, she said, is a "bipartisan vote for all families."

March of Dimes spokesman Stephen McDonald said it's hoped this first report card will be a springboard to announcing progress each year.

---

E-mail: Lois@desnews.com