On May 3rd, the Fortiviti team joined over 8,000 walkers in the 2015 Greater Kansas City March for Babies. It was a fun day for the entire family and inspiring to see so many people there to support such a wonderful cause. The mission of the March of Dimes is help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies. According to the 2014 Premature Birth Report Card, the United States scores a “C” grade for preterm births at a rate of 11.4%. The state of Kansas actually scored slightly better than the national score, coming in at a “B” grade with a rate of 10.8%. The goal is to reduce that rate to 9.6% or less by 2020. Risk factors in preterm births include uninsured women and women who smoke. The March of Dimes works to achieve benefits of applying strategies such as smoking cessation programs, progesterone treatments, lowering the number of pregnancies from infertility treatments that result in multiples, and preventing medically unnecessary cesarean sections and inductions before 39 weeks of pregnancy. The 9.6% goal also expects that more women will have insurance coverage in the future.

Learn more about the Premature Birth Report Card and how you can help by visiting the March of Dimes.