The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing premature birth, birth defects, and infant mortality. The March of Dimes carries out this mission through community services, advocacy, research, education and support. The March of Dimes gives every baby a fighting chance.
While having a baby is a joyful experience, it is also one that comes with anxiety and concerns. Being in the military – whether as a serviceperson or as the partner of a serviceperson – can cause extra stress. Very high levels of stress, such as the stress caused by a deployment, may contribute to premature birth or low birth weight in full-term babies. Recognizing this concern, the March of Dimes created Mission: Healthy Baby®, a program designed specifically for military families that provides free pregnancy and newborn health information and support services to help them have one less thing to worry about and have healthy, full-term babies. March of Dimes recognizes that our mission is relevant to military families.
According to a Department of Defense report:
With these important statistics in mind, March of Dimes is pleased to present some of these highlights of its support to military families: