The March of Dimes Scientific Advisory Committee on Prematurity has recommended a targeted research agenda designed to save and improve the lives of thousands of babies by preventing premature birth. The committee is made up of experts from across the nation in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, women's health, reproductive biology, nursing and public health.

The six priority areas for research are as follows:

• New epidemiological studies to identify common risk factors among women who have had a premature birth
• The role of genes and the interaction of genes with lifestyle factors such as smoking
• Studies to determine why African-Americans and other groups have higher rates of preterm birth
• The role of infections and how the body responds to infections
• The role that stress may play in early deliveries
• Clinical trials to assess new potential treatments

The March of Dimes is actively funding research grants in these six areas and urging the federal government to fund similar projects.

To ensure that all avenues of research on prematurity are being explored, in 2005, the March of Dimes held the National Prematurity Research Symposium. Seventy prominent scientists came together to generate new, perhaps unorthodox, approaches to solving the mystery of premature birth. The symposium resulted in several new research strategies, including championing the concept of a shared biologic databank.

On the international level, the March of Dimes supports the Preterm Birth International Collaborative (PREBIC), an organization that works to promote and enhance international networking among researchers and to establish multinational research projects. Several March of Dimes grantees are members of the collaborative.

Reference
Green, N.S. Research Agenda for Preterm Birth: Recommendations from the March of Dimes. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, volume 193, number 3, September 2005, pages 626-635.

August 2006