Georgians are having more premature babies than other states

Nearly 12% of babies born in Georgia are premature

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A report by March of Dimes shows a negative trend in the state for the third year. Georgia got a failing grade for the number of preterm births in the state, according to the report.

The CDC says preterm babies are born before the completion of 37 weeks of pregnancy.

March of Dimes says almost 12% of babies in Georgia are preterm. The organization tracks infant health annually and would like to decrease that number by 8.1% next year.

Dr. Mitch Rodriguez is the Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Navicent Health.

“I think our goal should not be, necessarily, to get to that number, but rather to change a trend that has been taking an uptake in the last few years,” Rodriguez said. “And reducing not only prematurity that by default would also reduce the infant mortality rate.”

Georgia currently ranks 45th in the country for preterm births. Rodriguez says pre-conceptual care is a component of premature births that often gets overlooked.