2023 Missouri and Metro-East Heroes In Action

For many people in the United States, pregnancy and childbirth are marked most notably not by picking out cribs and paint colors for the nursery, but by fears and anxieties related to the very real possibilities of complications, injury, and even death during pregnancy or childbirth. These risks have increased for all pregnancies within the United States over the past few years, but have become even more disparate for Black women. 

Did you know that Black women are THREE times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes as white women? Check out The Century Foundation's research on these statistics to learn more about the growing disparities in maternal health here in the U.S.

Did you know that in 2020, the United States had the highest infant mortality rates out of any other high-income country despite spending the most money on health care? Check out this report from The Commonwealth Fund for more details!

We can do something about this, and you can help! Your contribution to the March of Dimes supports research, programs, education, and advocacy needed by parents throughout their pregnancies!

• ​The research goals of March of Dimes are to discover the causes of preterm birth and to achieve birth equity for all mothers, regardless of race or class. March of Dimes provides annual funding to five Prematurity Research Centers and four research grant mechanisms (including two career development grant programs). They also fund two annual awards which recognize distinguished achievement in the maternal-fetal health field.
• The March of Dimes provides a variety of programs, including: implicit bias training, prenatal education, support, & care, NICU Family Support, International Conference on Birth Defects and Disabilities in the Developing World, Mom & Baby Mobile Health Centers, and Supportive Pregnancy Care
• March of Dimes also provides educational opportunities for healthcare professionals that help drive a culture of change in the delivery of family care, reduce maternal and infant mortality and morbidity and close the health equity gap. In addition, March of Dimes provides education to families on topics like preconception, preterm birth, the NICU, newborn screening and genetics.
• March of Dimes advocates at the federal, state, and local level to improve the health of all moms and babies!

Please consider donating to the March of Dimes and becoming part of a movement to make America a more equitable place and ensure that every mom and baby is healthy.