We have developed a new healthcare provider landing page to gather the information providers need in one place. This page has quick links for healthcare providers, including news, patient forms, free educational materials and CMEs, disease reporting instructions, and topical resources. The page was developed after talking to doctors this past summer and listening to their ideas. We hope we heard you and are open to more ideas. Drop a line to website@health.ri.gov to let us know what you think or share ideas about how to make it better.

Provisional data show Rhode Island is on track to meet a challenge to lower the state's preterm birth rate by 8 percent by 2014. Health officials in Rhode Island accepted the challenge earlier this year as part of a pledge to help give more babies a healthy start in life. The challenge, issued by Association of State and Territorial Health Officers President David Lakey, MD, Texas' commissioner of Health Services, in partnership with the March of Dimes, would lower Rhode Island's preterm birth rate to 10.4 percent from a baseline of 11.3 percent in 2009, preventing 156 preterm births. Based on 2011 provisional data of 10.3 percent, RI has surpassed the goal of 10.4 percent and therefore has set a new target to reduce the preterm birth rate to 9 percent by 2015. Currently, less than 10% of babies in neighboring Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are born preterm. Nationally, preterm birth rates range from a high of 16.9% in Mississippi to a low of 8.8% in Vermont. "We don't know everything about preterm birth, but we know there are steps that can make a difference, such as improving access to health care, helping women quit smoking, and ending early elective deliveries, said Betsy Akin, Director, March of Dimes New England Collaborative. "We applaud our state partners in public health for taking the initiative to implement proven strategies to address this problem." Preterm birth -- before 37 weeks of pregnancy -- is a serious health problem that costs the United States more than $26 billion annually, according to a 2006 Institute of Medicine report. It is the leading cause of newborn death, and one million babies worldwide die each year due to preterm birth. Babies who survive an early birth often face lifelong health challenges, such as breathing problems, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and others. One way state health officials are tackling the issue is by conducting an educational campaign with the March of Dimes to let pregnant women and their healthcare providers know that "Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait." Through advertising and patient education, women are advised that babies are not fully developed until at least 39 weeks and if their pregnancy is healthy, it's best to wait for labor to begin on its own rather than scheduling an induction or cesarean section. Other initiatives helping Rhode Island women have full-term pregnancies and healthy babies include a statewide Task Force on Preterm Births, efforts to enhance the delivery of group prenatal care through centering pregnancy programs, and strong advocacy efforts. To get involved in statewide efforts to reduce preterm births, contact the Rhode Island Chapter of the March of dimes at 401-454-1911. For additional health information and resources for pregnant women, visit www.health.ri.gov/for/pregnantwomen and Marchofdimes.com/RhodeIsland