Overview
- March of Dimes’ 2025 Report Card marks a fourth straight D+ for the nation, equating to nearly 380,000 babies born too early and a maternal mortality rate holding at 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births.
- Disparities are widening, with preterm births for babies of Black mothers near 14.7% and higher rates for Medicaid-covered births at 11.7% versus 9.6% among privately insured.
- State outcomes diverged as 19 states improved while 21 states and Washington, D.C., worsened, with D.C. graded F at 11.8% after a 9% year-over-year increase.
- Mississippi posted the highest rate at 15.0% and an F, while better performers included California at 9.1% (B-) and New Jersey at 9.4% (C+); Texas earned a D with an 11.1% rate that stayed flat.
- March of Dimes is pressing for the Preventing Maternal Deaths Act, PREEMIE Act reauthorization, and extended Medicaid postpartum coverage, expanding mobile clinics and research centers, and endorsing broader low-dose aspirin use to lower preeclampsia-related preterm births.