ATLANTA — Georgia received an F from the nonprofit March of Dimes in its annual report card examining maternal and infant health across the country.
The organization's findings showed a preterm birth rate of 11.8% for Georgia in 2023, lower than in 2022 but only by 0.1%.
Note: A preterm birth is one occurring before 37 completed weeks of gestation, based on the obstetric estimate of gestational age.
For further context, several of Georgia's counties saw preterm birth rates worsen or stay the same. As for the City of Atlanta, March of Dimes still gave the city an F despite noting that rates had improved.
In addition, March of Dimes found that the preterm birth rate for babies born to Black mothers was 1.4x higher than all other babies.
The nonprofit's report also found that the infant mortality rate increased in the decade, noting that, in 2022, 893 babies died before their first birthday.
These rates were also found to be significantly higher among Black babies, and birth defects were labeled as the leading cause of infant death from 2020 to 2022.
As for reasons why these numbers are so concerning for Georgia, March of Dimes pointed toward poor healthcare and physical health, along with extreme heat and poor air quality.
To combat these numbers, March of Dimes listed multiple policies and funding areas that the state could adopt to address this health disparity.
Among these were more supportive midwifery policies, Medicaid expansion, doula reimbursement policy, and paid family leave. For a complete breakdown of steps to improve maternal and infant healthcare, click here.
