Campaign aims to eliminate premature births The March of Dimes kicked off a $75 million campaign to bring the issue to the forefront By Sarah Riley News-Chronicle Premature birth is the biggest problem facing obstetricians in this country, and the March of Dimes started a $75 million campaign this week to bring the problem to light. "The problem is that many families might not know what a problem prematurity is," said Dr. Mark Bertagnoli, a volunteer with March of Dimes and neonatal consultant at St. Vincent Hospital. "This is a problem that really is significant, even though the public might not know it's there." Premature births have been increasing in the country - preterm infant birth increased 14 percent between 1990 and 2002 - and doctors don't exactly know why. To try to combat the problem, which can lead to multiple health issues later in life, the March of Dimes is committing millions of dollars to research. The Prematurity Campaign will focus on bringing the problem of premature births to the public, educating pregnant women on the signs of premature birth, working with doctors and hospitals to get them the tools they need and testing newborns for certain diseases. "Unfortunately, way too many babies are born too early," Bertagnoli said. One of the problems of dealing with the country's premature birth problem is doctors don't know why it happens in all cases. Some of the contributing factors include infection, stress, physical abuse, a lack of folic acid, tobacco use and environmental and genetic factors, Bertagnoli said. Locally, the Great Northern Lakes Division Board of the March of Dimes will host its annual fund-raisers, like WalkAmerica, its celebrity golf tournament, Jail and Bail and the Chef Auction. The goal of the campaign locally and around the country is to increase awareness. Green Bay's regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is located at St. Vincent. Bertagnoli said the survival rate for premature babies at the hospital is above the national average, which is 90 percent. In the 1970s, the survival rate was between 50 percent and 70 percent, Bertagnoli said. The work March of Dimes has done has helped boost the numbers. The March of Dimes was founded by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938 as a way to eliminate polio, a disease that struck him in his youth. The organization worked to create a vaccine for polio, and it now works to fight birth defects and serves as a voice for mothers and babies in Washington, D.C., and state capitals.