By Stephanie Crosby
Louisville, KY – The March of Dimes has released its annual report card on premature birth. The entire country scored a D', and Kentucky scored even worse. Kentucky has been given an F' for the last two years, mostly because its high smoking rate, especially among pregnant women. But March of Dimes Director of Program Services for Kentucky Katrina Thompson says they're seeing an increase in inductions and Cesarean births in the 34-to-36 week range of gestation.
"We have a lot of women who ask for inductions, you know, they're in that last month, they're tired of being pregnant, their back hurts, that sort of thing, so they're asking for the baby to be born."
Thompson says they've also seen an increase in doctors who are willing to induce birth before labor starts. She says a healthy pregnancy typically lasts 40 weeks and in many cases- even with ultrasounds - it's hard to tell exactly how long a baby has been developing.