Because this month is Prematurity Awareness Month I have been thinking a lot about the March of Dimes and all the ways they were helpful and instrumental in helping to save Elliot's life. I know that they sometimes get a bad wrap because of their research on birth defects and the results being used by abortion groups to terminate pregnancies. But that was not the intent of the research. Their mission has always been about saving babies. So now I want to tell you that EVERYONE who has EVER had a baby in America should thank the March of Dimes for their work! If you have had a baby then look over the list of what they have done for you too! I highlighted all the ones that affected Elliot...tell me how they have helped you?
March of Dimes Milestones and Timeline
January 1938President Franklin Delano Roosevelt establishes the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis - a unique partnership of scientists and volunteers - to conquer polio.
Eddie Cantor creates the first grassroots fund-raiser for the National Foundation, asking the public to send dimes to President Roosevelt at the White House. The effort was called the March of Dimes, which later became part of the official name of the foundation.
March of Dimes first research grant goes to Yale University.
1939
March of Dimes first chapter is established in Coshocton, Ohio.
1941
March of Dimes provides first iron lung to assist polio victims.
1949
March of Dimes selects Dr. Jonas Salk to lead research on classifying polio viruses.
1950
First Mothers March launched in Phoenix, Arizona., to raise emergency funding during a serious polio outbreak.
1952
Virginia Apgar, M.D., develops the Apgar Score, a clinical system for evaluating an infant's physical condition at birth. By the end of the decade, it becomes the standard practice in obstetrical care throughout the world, and remains so today. Her scoring system was the crucial first step in the evolution of medical subspecialties focused on newborns. Dr. Apgar worked from 1959 until her death in 1974 for the March of Dimes.
1953
Dr. Salk confirms the feasibility of a killed-virus vaccine for polio.
1954
March of Dimes runs field trials of Salk vaccine with 1,830,000 schoolchildren participating. The test is the largest peacetime mobilization of volunteers in history.
April 12, 1955
Salk vaccine is declared "safe, effective and potent."
1958
March of Dimes initiates the first concerted efforts to save babies from birth defects.
1960
March of Dimes establishes The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif.
1961
Earlier March of Dimes work pays off in the development of the PKU test. This allows some forms of mental retardation to be prevented.
1962
Oral polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Albert Sabin with funding from the March of Dimes is licensed.
1968
March of Dimes funds the first successful bone marrow transplant to correct a birth defect.
1970
First WalkAmerica events take place in San Antonio, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio.
1973
March of Dimes researchers discover that alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes birth defects.
March of Dimes funds first in utero treatment for a birth defect.
April Murphy is first baby to be successfully treated in the womb for birth defects
1976
March of Dimes calls for creation of a regional system of newborn intensive care units to save sick babies.
1978
March of Dimes funds first prenatal diagnosis of sickle cell anemia.
1981
March of Dimes funds first successful surgery to correct a urinary blockage in an unborn baby.
1982
March of Dimes launches "Babies & You" program to bring prenatal education to the workplace.
1984
March of Dimes funds development of a newborn screening test for biotinidase deficiency, which can cause mental retardation and death unless treated promptly.
1985
March of Dimes funds research leading to the use of surfactant to treat respiratory distress syndrome(RDS). Danielle Cofey is one of first infants to be treated with life-saving surfactant therapy.
1989
March of Dimes grantee performs the first in utero surgery to repair a diaphragmatic hernia in an unborn baby.
Blake Schultz is first baby to undergo lifesaving fetal surgery to correct a diaphragmatic hernia.
1991
March of Dimes funds research showing that delivering babies with spina bifida by cesarean section may save them from paralysis.
March of Dimes grantees identify genes responsible for Marfan syndrome -- an inherited disorder of connective tissue, and fragile X syndrome -- the most common known familial cause of mental retardation.
1992
March of Dimes grantee locates a gene connected with 70 to 80 percent of cases of acute leukemia in infants.
1993
March of Dimes grantees clone gene responsible for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy — a rare and often fatal hereditary disease characterized by adrenal failure and paralysis.
Ashanthi DeSilva and Cynthia Cutshall become first Americans to undergo gene therapy.
1994
March of Dimes launches nationwide campaign urging women to take the B vitamin folic acid to help prevent neural tube birth defects.
1995
March of Dimes grantees share Nobel Prize for research on fruit flies that identified master genes that control the early structural development of the body.
March of Dimes funds research showing that treating certain infections with antibiotics reduces the risk of preterm delivery.
1996
March of Dimes-supported research on nitric oxide leads to a new treatment to save premature babies from persistent pulmonary hypertension, a deadly lung disorder.
March of Dimes volunteers help secure passage of the Mothers' and Newborns' Health Protection Act, guaranteeing a minimum hospital stay of 48 hours following delivery.
With March of Dimes support, the FDA approves fortification of grain products with folic acid.
1997
March of Dimes grantee successfully uses deactivated HIV viruses as delivery systems for healthy genes in gene therapy.
March of Dimes grantee finds that gene abnormalities in the development of certain enzymes involved in folic acid metabolism may contribute to susceptibility to neural tube defects.
March of Dimes grantee identifies a gene for Alagille syndrome, a rare inherited disorder that causes abnormalities in different parts of the body.
March of Dimes volunteers help secure passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), to provide health care coverage for up to 5 million children.
1998
March of Dimes volunteers help secure passage of the Birth Defects Prevention Act, establishing a nationwide network of birth defects monitoring and research programs.
March of Dimes research leads to one of the first successful surgeries to treat spina bifida before birth. Noah Kipfmiller is one of the first babies to undergo this pioneering open-womb surgical procedure.
1999
March of Dimes grantees successfully use gene therapy to treat hemophilia and retinitis pigmentosa in the lab.
2000
March of Dimes volunteers developed key provisions and worked to enact The Children's Health Act of 2000. The law creates a National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and helps states to expand newborn screening.
2001
March of Dimes launches a partnership with the Dutch-based de Waal Foundation to provide prenatal care and birth defects prevention information to women in Ecuador, Honduras and Nicaragua.
2002
March of Dimes grantees win the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for their discoveries on genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death (apoptosis).
The March of Dimes promotion of folic acid fortification and awareness contributed to a 21 percent decline in the occurrence of neural tube birth defects between 1995 - 2000.
2003
March of Dimes launches a multimillion dollar, multiyear campaign to prevent premature birth and raise awareness of its serious consequences.
2005
The North Building at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is dedicated to March of Dimes volunteers, as part of the 50th anniversary of the polio vaccine.
2006
Nobel Prizes are awarded to March of Dimes grantees Drs. Roger D. Kornberg and Craig Mello for groundbreaking discoveries on RNA and its role in human development.
March of Dimes advocacy leads to passage of the PREEMIE Act to bring together experts from the private and public sectors to speed development of prevention strategies for preterm labor and delivery.
2007
March of Dimes volunteer efforts lead to increase in newborn screening. Nearly 90 percent of all babies born in the U.S. – more than double the percentage in 2005 – live in states that require screening for at least 21 of 29 life-threatening but treatable disorders.
During November, Prematurity Awareness Month, the Every Baby Has a Story campaign and bus tour enable families everywhere to tell their baby's special story and become part of the March of Dimes online story community.
Three recipients of the March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology are awarded Nobel Prizes: Mario R. Capecchi, PhD; Sir Martin I. Evans, PhD, DSc, FRS; and Oliver Smithies, D.Phil. FRS
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