Brooklyn Borough President

MARKOWITZ JOINS MARCH OF DIMES TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE DANGERS OF PREMATURE BIRTH

Photograph by Kathryn Kirk

In photo: Brooklyn residents Stephenie Atkinson, Corey Moitt, and their son Jayden born premature; Brooklyn Borough President Markowitz; Navy Anderson, born premature and 2005 March of Dimes National Ambassador, and her mother, Jamie Anderson.

On Tuesday, November 15, Borough President Marty Markowitz hosted Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, President of the March of Dimes, and Dr. Louis Sullivan, Prematurity Campaign Chairman and former Secretary of Health and Human Services, along with 22 mothers and fathers of premature babies to raise awareness of the serious risks of premature birth.

“All babies deserve to have the best start in life so that they can grow up to achieve the zenith of their God-given potential,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz. “Now is the right time to partner with the March of Dimes to raise awareness and reduce our rates of premature birth, which threaten the health of many Brooklyn mothers and their newborns. That’s how we can ensure that every Brooklyn baby will be born healthy.”

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, premature birth is the number one killer of newborns. It is also a major cause of serious health problems and disability among many babies who do survive. In 2003, 12 percent of Brooklyn babies were born premature. At Borough Hall, Jamie Anderson from Logan, Utah shared her family’s personal story about how her twins were born 17 weeks early. Her son Jackson survived only three-and-a-half hours, but today her 8-year-old daughter Navy has no serious health problems.

The March of Dimes, which observed Prematurity Awareness Day with events across the nation on Tuesday, is a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign national sponsors include CIGNA, FedEx, the Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute, and Motherhood Maternity. The National Prematurity Awareness Month sponsor is MedImmune, Inc, and Prematurity Awareness Month supporters include First Response and Arm & Hammer Oral Care. For more information, visit the March of Dimes website at marchofdimes.com or its Spanish website at nacersano.org.