IOM Calls for More Research on Preterm Births : The cost of extra medical care and lost productivity from this rising problem exceeded $26 billion in 2005.

The IOM report “elevates the seriousness of the problem,” Jennifer Howse, Ph.D., president of the March of Dimes said in an interview. The report, which was cosponsored by the March of Dimes, is a realistic assessment of prematurity in the United States, she said.

Although the March of Dimes endorsed the recommendations in the report, the group also called on Congress to pass pending federal legislation that would authorize more federal research into preterm birth. The Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act or PREEMIE bill (S. 707/H.R. 2861) was introduced last year and was passed by the Senate in August.

Copies of the IOM report are available online at www.nap.edu