March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. The organization believes that every baby deserves the best possible start. The March of Dimes signature fundraiser, March for Babies, is an event that brings walkers, volunteers and sponsors together to celebrate their community. Coworkers, families, friends and celebrities participate to fight premature birth and give more babies a healthy start. Each year, about 20,000 companies and 3 million people take part in nearly 500 communities across the country.
This year's March for Babies Walk will take place on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at Constellation Field from 8 am – 11 am. This will be followed by a Celebration Concert on May 18, 2018 at Sugar Land Town Square from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm.
Those who participate in March for Babies are supporting moms through every stage of the pregnancy journey, even when everything doesn't go according to plan. March of Dimes partners with local organizations for the health of all moms and babies including:
- Access Health
- Community Health Choice
- Fort Bend County
- Fort Bend ISD
- Harris Health System
- Honey Child
- Houston Methodist
- El Centro de Corazon
- Lactation Foundation
- Lamar Consolidated ISD
- Memorial Hermann
- Texas Children’s Hospital
- The Woman’s Hospital of Texas
- University of Houston
- Zeta Phi Beta, Inc.’s Stork’s Nest
In Texas, more than 403,600 babies are born every year, and the work of the March of Dimes touches each one of them, whether they are born healthy, prematurely, with a birth defect or other health complications.
Each year in Texas:
- 40,992 babies are born preterm — that’s 1 in 10 babies born too soon.
- 12,231 babies are born with a birth defect.
- 2,255 babies die before reaching their first birthday.
- Prematurity and birth defects are the leading causes of infant mortality.
- The medical and societal cost of preterm birth is $2.1 billion.
Through community service, advocacy, research, education and support, or the CARES Initiative, the organization works to change the lives of moms, babies and families across the country and in the local community.
The CARES Initiative:
Community - Working to reduce racial, ethnic and geographic disparities in preterm birth, providing training to communities on understanding why birth outcomes are different among women in Texas.
Advocacy - Working to influence both legislative and regulatory activities in Texas by serving as powerful voices for the needs of pregnant women, infants, children and families. In 2016, March of
Dimes secured three regulatory wins, including successfully advocating for the adoption of neonatal levels of care in the state’s hospitals and working to ensure the rules were flexible to address the needs of rural communities and hospitals without compromising care.
Research - Invested nearly $20 million in research to understand, treat and prevent the serious health problems that threaten infants. Our work includes supporting five March of Dimes Prematurity Research Centers, where teams of brilliant scientists and researchers are looking for answers and sharing discoveries to transform our understanding of the causes and prevention of preterm birth.
Education – Helps women and families prepare for the healthiest possible pregnancy by providing the latest health information in both English and Spanish. We communicate this information through our websites, printed materials, videos, social media, personalized answers to questions via email and workplace programs.
Support – Brings together families affected by birth defects, premature birth and infant loss through our online community, shareyourstory.org. We also offer information and comfort to families with a baby in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU) through our 15 NICU Family Support programs in Texas hospitals.
About March of Dimes
For 80 years, March of Dimes has helped millions of babies survive and thrive. They are building on that legacy to level the playing field for all moms and babies, no matter their age, socio-economic background or demographics. The organization supports moms throughout their pregnancy, even when everything does not go according to plan. They advocate for policies that prioritize their health. They support radical improvements to the care they receive, and they pioneer research to find solutions to the biggest health threats to moms and babies.
What began with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's personal struggle with polio led to the creation of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, better known as March of Dimes, and ultimately a cure for the disease. With that success behind them, the organization began to focus on fighting birth defects, premature birth and infant death with innovations like newborn screenings and surfactant therapy; education for medical professionals and the public about best practices; and lifesaving research. They provided comfort and support to families in NICUs and advocated for those who needed us most, moms and babies.
Today, the organization is stronger and more committed than ever to guiding moms through every stage of the pregnancy journey.