Senator Christopher Dodd introduces a new bill to prevent premature births

by Christine Moyer

WASHINGTON - The number of babies born prematurely in Connecticut has risen by roughly 5 percent since 1991 and by about 10 percent and nationwide, according to the March of Dimes.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) wants to find out why. He has introduced the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers Who Deliver Infants Early Act (PREEMIE), which aims to reduce the mortality rate for premature babies by increasing research on early births.

Nationwide, nearly 500,000 babies are born prematurely each year, and more than one-fifth of them develop health problems, the March of Dimes reported. Many of them suffer from devastating disabilities and have to fight for their lives. Premature births account for 23 percent of the deaths that occur in the first month of life, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

"Premature infants are 14 times more likely to die in their first year than infants who are carried to term," Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the bill's co-sponsor, said at a press conference Thursday.

Dodd, the senior Democrat on a subcommittee on children and families, said the bill "is an important step in the right direction towards preventing premature birth and providing better care for infants born prematurely."

According to Dr. Daniel Langford, a neonatologist at New Britain General Hospital, roughly 9 percent of the babies born at the hospital every year are premature --born after less than 36 weeks gestation. A normal pregnancy takes 40 weeks.

Respiratory distress, infections and low glucose levels are among the problems common in premature babies, Langford said.

The March of Dimes web site lists four potential causes of early labor: maternal or fetal stress, infection, bleeding of the uterus and stretching of the uterus. But a spokesperson for the organization said the reasons for half of all premature births are unknown.

"We need a focused, targeted research to understand the reasons for premature birth," said Dr. Jennifer Howse, president of the March of Dimes, which works to combat premature births and genetic defects. She added that the number of early births seemed to be rising-from 10.8 percent of all live births in 1991 to 11.9 percent in 2001.In Connecticut, premature births rose from 9.3 percent to 9.8 percent during the same decade.

Dodd and Alexander were joined at the press conference by parents and advocates from Bolton, Fairfield, Kensington and Stamford.

Dodd said the bill would provide $15 million a year for five years to step up research.