Prematurity Awareness Day

Proclamation

By the Governor of Alabama

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes Foundation is a pioneer in improving the health of infants and women of childbearing age by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality; and

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes has undertaken decades of groundbreaking research in maternal and child health, which has led to the discovery of lifesaving products and tests such as surfactant therapy for premature infants and tests to identify life-threatening birth defects; and

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes was a pioneer in the support of newborn screening, urging Congress to pass and fund the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act, which in 2008 established national guidelines on the conditions states should include in newborn programs, and through state advocacy ensured that every state screens all newborns for that core set of conditions; and

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes is a long-time advocate for access to health care for women of childbearing age, infants, children, and families, ensuring they have access to private and public health coverage under private coverage, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, Title V Block Grant, and the Affordable Care Act; and

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes in 2003 launched the Prematurity Campaign to address the crisis of premature birth and help families have full-term, healthy babies, and authored the Premature Research Expansion and Education Act for Mothers (PREEMIE) Act, which Congress enacted in 2006 and reauthorized in 2013 to expand research, education, and services to fight premature births; and

WHEREAS, the March of Dimes has set a national goal of reducing preterm birth to 5.5 percent in every state by 2030, which will result in a healthier start in life for tens of thousands of infants; and

WHEREAS, 11.7 percent of all babies are born premature in the state of Alabama; and

WHEREAS, the month of November is recognized as World Prematurity Awareness Month to bring about recognition of this global health crisis, and November 17 is recognized as Prematurity Awareness Day across the United States:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim November 17, 2016, as

Prematurity Awareness Day

in the State of Alabama.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 1st day of November 2016.

Robert Bentley

Governor