A new report from the March of Dimes on preterm births is out and the D.C. area gets middle of the road to poor marks.
The report gives D.C. a grade of “F,” as 898 babies were born premature in the District in 2024.
The city ranks 45th of 52, including all states and Puerto Rico, with a preterm birth rate of 11.8%.
By comparison, the country has a preterm birth rate of 10.4%, according to the report which gives the U.S. an overall grade of “D-plus.”
“It’s a dark week for D.C., for moms and babies,” said Dr. Elizabeth Kielb, director of maternal and infant health for the March of Dimes in the D.C. area.
Kielb said there’s a driving factor behind why the preterm birth rate is so high in D.C.
“Almost a quarter of women are not receiving adequate prenatal care during their pregnancy, this is significantly higher than the national average of just over 16%,” she said.
For Black mothers, the problem is even worse. The report shows in D.C., 30.2% of Black moms and their babies receive inadequate prenatal care.
What care these moms are getting is often lacking, Kielb said.
“Black moms especially, their concerns are dismissed when they are in the hospital. A lot of the time, they’re basically told they’re not in pain when they are in pain,” she said.
In all three areas, Black babies were more likely to be preterm than all other babies.
The preterm birth report card grades are not much better in Maryland and Virginia. Maryland received a “D-plus” and Virginia a “C-minus.”
Kielb said systemic issues with the nation’s health care system are also to blame for the poor outcomes for mothers and newborns, and it’s really showing up in the D.C. region.
“Maryland used to be significantly better, and now it’s D-plus,” she said.
She said there several initiatives underway in the region to try and improve the situation, including new efforts in patient-centered care, policy at the state level and supporting the Maternal and Child Health force work group.
“We have to do more. We have to address this here in our home, what we’re doing. And hopefully, this will spread,” Kielb said.
Since 2008, the March of Dimes has released the report to educate and advocate for better mom and baby outcomes across the U.S.
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