Medical resources

• Incorporate preconception and genetics into your everyday practice.
• Use our patient education tools in preconception and prenatal care.
• Use our Prematurity Campaign resources to help improve birth outcomes.

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Preconception, premature birth, newborn screening and genetics are all important aspects of perinatal health care. The March of Dimes provides resources and links to help you stay up to date on these critical topics.

Preventing premature birth
Premature birth is the leading killer of newborns in the United States. Through our Prematurity Campaign, we aim to raise public awareness of the problems of prematurity and decrease the rate of preterm birth in the United States and throughout the world. Special resources for professionals can help you join us in this important effort.

Patient education
Patient education is key to improving the health of mothers and their babies. With more than 70 years of experience in health education, the March of Dimes provides a wide range of resources for patients and their families. Our goal is to provide health care professionals with the educational information they need to improve the health of mothers and babies.

Genetics and Your Practice®
This site designed just for professionals gives practical, how-to information and downloadable tools to help integrate genetics into your clinical practice. Educational modules include genetic testing and screening, taking a family history, and making referrals to genetic services. Interactive case studies offer 3 continuing medical education credits.

Our Preconception and Prenatal Genetic Screening Pocket Facts describes widely used screening methods and data for certain birth defects.

Professional collaborations
The March of Dimes works with a number of organizations to bring the most current scientific and clinical information to providers on a number of topics:

• Beforeandbeyond.org is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) preconception initiative for health care providers.
• The Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS) promotes a wellness model of maternity care to improve birth outcomes and reduce health care costs. Its Breastfeeding is Priceless fact sheet offers recommendations for providers to support breastfeeding in clinical practice.
• The Genetics/Genomics Competency Center for Education provides genetics and genomics resources, including competency guidelines and curricula. It also provides a forum for sharing your own activities, resources and assessments.
• The March of Dimes is a member of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. This organization seeks to improve the lives and future prospects of children and families through efforts to prevent teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy, especially among single, young adults.