[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 193 (Monday, November 17, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H4698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RAISING AWARENESS OF PRETERM BIRTH RATES

  (Ms. McCLELLAN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, the United States has one of the highest 
preterm birth rates in the world, which is a leading cause of infant 
mortality.
  Today, the March of Dimes released its 2025 report card on the state 
of maternal and infant health. The United States received a D-plus for 
preterm birthrate for the fourth consecutive year in a row.
  In 2024, 380,000 babies were born prematurely. That is 10.4 percent 
of all babies born. The worst rates are in the southern region of the 
United States.
  These statistics are personal for me. My daughter was born 9 weeks 
early when my placenta ruptured. We both nearly died. She spent the 
next 6 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit. We were among the 
lucky ones. Far too many mothers and babies don't have that same 
outcome.
  Mr. Speaker, today I join Representatives Jennifer Kiggans and Robin 
Kelly to introduce a bipartisan resolution to designate November 2025 
as Prematurity Awareness Month, and I join my colleagues to do more to 
prevent preterm births.

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