March of Dimes Milestones - Repost

Here is a condensed timeline of significant accomplishments of the March of Dimes. You can find the entire timeline at the MOD website. I am blown away by how much this organization has done and continues to do to help every baby have a healthy start.

March of Dimes Milestones and Timeline
January 1938
President 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.

1939
March of Dimes first chapter is established in Coshocton, Ohio.

1941
March of Dimes provides first iron lung to assist polio victims.

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.

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.

1958
March of Dimes initiates the first concerted efforts to save babies from birth defects.

1962
Oral polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Albert Sabin with funding from the March of Dimes is licensed.

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.

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.

1994
March of Dimes launches nationwide campaign urging women to take the B vitamin folic acid to help prevent neural tube birth defects.

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.

1997
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 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.

2002
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.

2006
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.