PREEMIE Bill Goes to House - Advocates Education & Research

I spent weeks 30-36 of my pregnancy on bed rest and medication due to pre-term contractions that began in week 28. Doctors feared I might go into labor early and have a premature baby. Since my mother had lost a baby who was born prematurely at week 32, I didn't want to take any chances and I followed their advice.  However, during that time I learned that very little is actually known about what causes preterm labor and prematurity. I was lucky - my baby was born at week 42 instead of week 30, but as many parents who spend time in the NICU know, you never know when it could happen to you.

A few weeks ago, the Senate approved the 'PREEMIE' Act (S. 707/H.R. 2861). The bipartisan bill, dedicated to increasing federal support into research and education on premature births, is officially called "The Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers Who Deliver Infants Early Act".  Now it's up to the House to pass this important piece of legislation.

The March of Dimes has been campaigning for this bill since 2003.  Prematurity and preterm labor are two largely misunderstood problems that have been increasing in incidence. This is a problem of epidemic proportions around the world.  The goal of the campaign is to increase awareness and save lives.  Modern medicine can do amazing things for premature babies, but it is still sometimes not enough.  The PREEMIE Bill will provide additional resources to help prevent and treat preterm labor and premature birth cases.

The March of Dimes site for parents who have preterm labor and premature babies is ShareYourStory.org. You can go there to read the announcement of the bill's passage in the Senate.

To support the bill's passage in the House, please write your Representative. The March of Dimes Advocacy has a page with a letter template and other information to make it easier.

To track the bill, check out its page on Govtrack.