Premature births down in Indiana

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - It's a staggering statistic, 1 in 8 babies is born prematurely In the United states and consequently the number one cause of new born death is from pre mature birth. A new study out this week found Indiana went from a failing grade for infant mortality rates to a passing one.

You've seen the walks and the fundraisers, but if you’re not a parent who has lived through a premature birth, you don't know the dangers of a baby that is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

"You have a lot of things that are still not ready, such as its lungs or the brain development or weight in general those are the simple things to address,” Nikki Simpson of the Wabash Valley March of Dimes said.
    
In fact the leading cause of infant death is from premature birth.
    
Babies not quite developed and equipped to exist outside of the womb can succumb to SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome.
    
The March of Dimes looks to improve the not only Indiana but the nations number of premature births.
    
In a study released this week, the group showed that in the past 6 years Indiana has made significant strides: lowering the number of premature births from 13.2 percent down to 11.6

"So when we look at things what can we do to help that?” Simpsons said. “One of the thing we want to do is and have been doing is knowing the signs of pre term labor.”
    
Simpson said that education by expecting mothers has helped to lower the numbers. That's where groups like the March of Dimes are concentrating their efforts.
    
Helping to educate new parents and do research to find the causes of pre mature birth. But, while this year's report is better than last, their work simply isn't done yet.

"So when we look at it and we have improved lets not make it that large of a celebration,” she said. “Lets talk about the fact that we still have more than 11 percent of the babies in Indiana being born pre-term.”
   
A number they want to bring down to less than 10 percent by 2020.