March of Dimes to focus on reducing preterm birth in Texas

Advances in modern science and increased awareness have helped bring down the number of babies born prematurely in the United States, but the preterm birth rate remains one of the worst among industrialized nations.

In conjunction with Prematurity Awareness Month and World Prematurity Day on November 17, the March of Dimes unveiled a plan to focus more attention and resources on these “high population and/or high-burden” areas with the goal of reducing the nation’s preterm birth rate to 5.5 percent by 2030.

Premature birth is the leading cause of death among babies.

Worldwide, 15 million babies are born preterm, and nearly one million die due to complications of an early birth, according to the March of Dimes. The organization has found that babies who survive an early birth often face serious and lifelong health problems, including breathing problems, jaundice, vision loss, cerebral palsy and intellectual delays.

The National Center for Health Statistics found the United States’ preterm birth rate was 9.6 percent in 2014. According to March of Dimes data from 2013, El Paso’s rate is 11.1 percent, second worst in Texas next to San Antonio.

Manar Del Valle was born prematurely on July 7 at the Hospitals of Providence Sierra Campus in Central El Paso.

“All of a sudden, my placenta just covered my cervix,” Amira Del Valle, Manar’s mom, told ABC-7. “So, that’s when I was hospitalized on bed rest, to try and keep me from going into labor.”

Del Valle ended up delivering Manar two-and-a-half months early. The tiny baby only weighed 4 pounds, 7 ounces. Del Valle, who has three older children ages 8, 6 and 2, said it was hard explaining to her children why she was home, yet their baby sister was not.

“They knew I wasn’t pregnant anymore, and they asked me, ‘Where’s my sister?'” said Del Valle. “It was hard for us to tell them she was still in the neonatal ICU, that the nurses were taking care of her, and that she couldn’t come home yet.”

Del Valle told ABC-7 that she also felt sadness and self-doubt after having a premature baby.

“I was taking good care of myself,” she told ABC-7. “I wondered, ‘Was it something I did?’

“And going from home all the way here, visiting her for maybe an hour, then going back home, was pretty emotional,” Del Valle added, explaining the added difficulty of delivering early.

It is common for mothers of premature children to blame themselves when the pregnancy doesn’t go as planned, even when the cause of the early birth is medically unexplained. But those inexplicable causes for premature births are why medical professionals told ABC-7 it’s important to do everything necessary to care for oneself before and during pregnancy.

“Not only are you caring for yourself, but you’re caring for your little one,” said Monica Vargas-Mahar, Sierra’s chief executive officer. “That takes awareness and education. Bad habits need to be put aside. It’s all part of living a healthy lifestyle.”

March of Dimes and other medical officials urge mothers to strive to carry an infant to 39 weeks gestation.

“We believe that everything happens for a reason,” Del Valle said. “Only God knows why I went through this.

“If we didn’t have all these advances, maybe I wouldn’t be sitting here with you,” Del Valle added.

At four months old, medical advances and love are just some reasons why little Manar is thriving. Manar, which means “guiding light” in Arabic, is active, awake and kicking her tiny legs for most of the time her mom talked with ABC-7.

“We’re always holding her. I can’t stop holding her all the time,” said Del Valle, laughing. “My other three kids always want to hold her. They want to feed her. I’m always taking pictures. I’m like the paparazzi.”

The March of Dimes developed a multi-year plan to attack the problem of preterm birth in communities with the greatest burden, former US Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin, MD, announced Tuesday.

The Prematurity Campaign Roadmap outlines specific interventions health care providers and officials can take to prevent preterm birth.

The first phase of the March of Dimes plan will focus on six states or US territories with the highest rates of preterm birth, including Texas, which has a rate is 10.3 percent.