Michigan Gets C Grade For Premature Births On March Of Dimes Report Card

DETROIT (WWJ) - Michigan got a C grade for premature births on the latest March of Dimes report card.

The report, released annually by the nonprofit organization, shows Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Warren and Sterling Heights have more pre-mature births than the rest of the state.

The report also finds disparities between communities and among racial and ethnic groups.

Michigan's preterm birth rate was 9.8 percent in 2014, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

The March of Dimes' Kara Hamilton-McGraw says while improvements have been made more work needs to be done.

"Women aren't always getting early access to adequate prenatal care," Hamilton-McGraw told WWJ's Dr. Deanna Lites. "We have women of childbearing age — too many women of childbearing age — smoking in Michigan."

"We have women of childbearing age binge drinking or having pregnancies that are closer than 18 months," she said.

Prematurity is the "number one killer" of children in the U.S., according to the March of Dimes, which works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects.

Babies who survive an early birth face serious and lifelong health problems, including breathing problems, jaundice, vision loss, cerebral palsy and intellectual delays.

Michigan's neighbors Indiana and Ohio also reveiced C grades in the report — but it could be worse. The March of Dimes gave Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Puerto Rico each an F.

See where other states stand and get more information on the report, HERE.