Chamber Endorses 'Healthy Babies, Healthy Business' Initiative

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Chamber of Commerce today applauded the March of Dimes for creating a new program, "Healthy Babies, Healthy Business," which aims to educate the public about the need to reduce the number of premature births in the United States.

"Premature birth is a serious, common and growing concern, with sometimes devastating consequences for families," said Kate Sullivan Hare, the Chamber's executive director of health care policy. "There are many steps that employers and the health care community, working together, can take to ameliorate the impact of premature birth."

The March of Dimes also released a study that quantifies the costs of premature birth to families and businesses. The study by Thomson Medstat, a health care information company, found that premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death and may result in lifelong disabilities. It affects nearly 12 percent of births every year, and has increased 29 percent since 1981. The study lays out the toll on workers and their employers in the form of higher insurance costs and lost productivity. The March of Dimes estimates that premature births cause businesses and private insurers to spend $7.4 billion annually for hospital charges alone.

The Chamber, along with the March of Dimes, is spreading the word to educate families and businesses about how to achieve a healthy birth. A free March of Dimes product is available for employers to add to their employee intranet to augment wellness and health benefit information. The "Healthy Babies, Healthy Business" initiative contains high-quality pregnancy and newborn health content with a special focus on preventing birth defects and reducing premature births, and can be accessed at www.marchofdimes.com/hbhb.

"Preventive measures and education have always been key to improving American health care," Sullivan Hare continued. "The 'Healthy Babies, Health Business' campaign and intranet product will help promote a better understanding of premature births and help families avoid long-term health issues – and ultimately help employers keep health care costs down."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

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