First Candle has joined forces with the March of Dimes and other prematurity alliance partners to help bring attention to the global problem of premature birth.

Prematurity is the leading killer of newborns worldwide; claiming the lives of 1.1 million babies every year. The vast majority of these deaths are preventable, even without intensive care.

Raising awareness of premature birth is the first step to defeating it . . .

Please help us spread the word!

• Understand the problem and learn how to take action on the World Prematurity Day Facebook page

• View the U.S. Premature Birth Report Card press release and interactive map to see the country/individual state grades.

• Sign a petition to have the White House lit purple on January 3, 2013 to mark the March of Dimes 75^th anniversary and to serve as a symbol of hope for families whose babies were born premature.  It’s a simple two-step process:  go to http://ow.ly/eBHkk and enter your name and email address, then click on the link in the email you’ll receive and hit “Sign this Petition.”  Every signature makes a difference toward the goal of gaining 25,000 before World Prematurity Day.

Links to recent news articles:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/13/usa-preterm-birthrate/1686763/#

http://www.nj.com/independentpress/index.ssf/2012/11/reauthorizing_preemie_act_will.html

http://www.erietvnews.com/story/20084209/day-of-gratitude

http://www.dailyastorian.com/news/northwest/oregon-hospitals-curbing-induced-births/article_40d88c62-9b62-586f-a37c-1a730bf4a745.html

http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/13092/20121113/preterm-birth-rates-lowest-decade.htm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/13/us-preterm-birth-rate-hit_n_2118244.html

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-13/u-s-preterm-birth-rate-declines-to-lowest-in-decade.html

http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2012/11/u-s-lowering-rate-of-premature-births-but-slowly/

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/13/health/infant-mortality-mississippi/index.html

http://theadvocate.com/home/4420875-125/premature-birth-report-la-gets