An editorial from The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — There is no greater blessing than a healthy baby.
But in the United States, about one in nine babies is born too soon, putting them at higher risk for a range of health problems.
With our world-class health-care system, you might presume the United States would have low premature birth rates, but we ranked 131st among nations in a global study done last year by the March of Dimes Foundation.
Almost all European nations, Russia, China and most of South America, had less than 10 pre-term births (before 37 weeks) per 100 births. The rate in the United States last year was 11.5 per 100 live births, and it is slightly higher in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky…
