Premature-birth rate low in state

Premature-birth rates in the Pacific Northwest are among the lowest in the nation, but the March of Dimes says that earns Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska only C's on the organization's premature-birth report card.

Oregon has the lowest rate of premature births in the region — 10.3 percent — and that gives it the third-lowest rate in the nation after Vermont and New Hampshire, according to the March of Dimes 2009 Premature Birth Report Card, which was released late Monday.

Also among the states with the lowest premature birthrates were Alaska with a rate of 10.4 percent, Idaho at 10.5 percent and Washington at 10.6 percent.

The national goal is 7.6 percent of live births by 2010. The U.S. earned a D grade this year with an average of 12.7 percent.

The organization can't point to one factor that gives the Pacific Northwest an edge over states in the Midwest and South, said Elaine Noonan, state director for March of Dimes' Washington chapter.

"Preterm birth is a common and complex problem with many contributing factors," she said.

In Washington, state officials have made a strong effort to help women stop smoking. Idaho, which showed the most improvement in the Pacific Northwest, has the second-lowest cesarean-section rate in the nation, and its report-card grade improved from a D to a C this year.

Noonan expressed concerns that the Washington Legislature cut money for its stop-smoking program earlier this year.

Every state could improve women's access to health insurance, she added. In Washington, 15 percent of women of childbearing age have no insurance. That number is over 20 percent in the other Pacific Northwest states.