March of Dimes Works to Eliminate Racial Gaps in Inf...(ional Basketball Wives Association also ...),Health

The March of Dimes has a long history of working within communities to address health problems. For nearly 30 years, the March of Dimes has partnered with Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and Zeta Phi Beta sorority. March of Dimes chapters have worked with Alpha Phi Alpha to implement Project Alpha(R) events and in 2006, the program provided information about teen pregnancy prevention to more than 4,500 young men.

In collaboration with Zeta Phi Beta, the March of Dimes began offering annual Prematurity Awareness Weekends to 100,000 people at more than 150 churches. And, in 2006, the sorority and the March of Dimes operated 390 Stork's Nest(R) programs reaching 20,500 underserved and predominantly black women. Launched in 1972, the Stork's Nest programs provides expectant mothers with prenatal care education, maternity and infant clothes and furniture at low or no cost.

The March of Dimes has committed more than $11 million to its Prematurity Research Initiative grant program, which supports research to identify factors that may help explain why black women have a higher rate of premature birth. One example is ongoing research by Dr. Jerome F. Strauss III, dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, which has linked certain genetic variations in the production and breakdown of the protein collagen with preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM). This research may help to identify factors that contribute to the disparity between black and white premature birth rates and ultimately lead to clinical interventions that successfully achieve health equity. PPROM is the leading identifiable cause of preterm birth.

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babiessm, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies. For the
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