New Report of Premature Births in Wisconsin is Released by the March of Dimes

The March of Dimes is out with a new report, highlighting the challenges to mothers carrying their babies to full term.

Wisconsin ranks in the bottom half of the country for premature births.

Dr. Camille Garrison with Columbia St. Mary's says it is hard to pinpoint an exact cause, but said on the CBS 58 News at 4 that pre-natal care was critical.

Dr. Garrison said there has been great progress made with group pre-natal care where women with similar pregnancies collectively gather for check ups and offer moral support to each other.

Here is a look at the pre-term births by county:

-- Waukesha County: 8%
-- Milwaukee County: 10.4%
-- Racine County: 10.9%

About 1 in 10 births are premature for Wisconsin as a whole.

Premature Report Card By Race:

African-American: 12.7%

White: 8.9%[

Hispanic: 8.5%

Asian: 8.0% 

Bottom line: African American women in Wisconsin are almost 1 1/12 more times more likely to have a premature birth than any other race.

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