March of Dimes

File:Roosevelt OConnor.jpg (left) meeting with Basil O'Connor over a sack of dimes.]]

March of Dimes improves the health of mothers and babies through five programming areas: medical research, education of pregnant women, community programs, government advocacy, and support of pregnant women and mothers.{{cite web|title=2015 Annual Report|url=http://www.marchofdimes.org/materials/2015-annual-report.pdf|publisher=March of Dimes Foundation|access-date=May 2, 2017|archive-date=August 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803173123/http://www.marchofdimes.org/materials/2015-annual-report.pdf|url-status=dead}} The organization provides women and families with educational resources on baby health, pregnancy, preconception and new motherhood. It also supplies information and support to families in the NICU who are affected by prematurity, birth defects, or other infant health problems.

March of Dimes began in 1938 as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. In 1976, it became known as the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. In 2007, the formal name became the March of Dimes Foundation.

{{For|the unaffiliated Canadian charitable organizations|Ontario March of Dimes|March of Dimes Canada}}

File:March-of-Dimes-Missy-LeHand-1938.jpg with 30,000 letters containing ten-cent contributions to the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis that arrived at the White House the morning of January 28, 1938]]

The group was founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 3, 1938, as a response to U.S. epidemics of polio, a condition that can leave people with permanent physical disabilities. Roosevelt was himself diagnosed with polio in 1921.{{cite book | last1=Goldman | first1=Armond S. | last2=Goldman | first2=Daniel A. | date=2017 | title=Prisoners of Time: The Misdiagnosis of FDR's 1921 Illness | publisher=EHDP Press | isbn=978-1939824035 }} The foundation was an alliance between scientists and volunteers, with volunteers raising money to support research and education efforts.{{cite journal|last=Baghdady|first=Maddock J.|title=Marching to a Different Mission |journal=Stanford Social Innovation Review|date=Spring 2008|pages=60–65|url= https://ssir.org/articles/entry/marching_to_a_different_mission |access-date=November 11, 2010}}

The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was a reconstitution of the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, which Roosevelt and his friend Basil O'Connor founded with other friends in 1927.{{cite news |last=Whitman |first=Alden |date=March 10, 1972 |title=Basil O'Connor, Polio Crusader, Dies|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E01E3DD1338EF3BBC4852DFB5668389669EDE |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2015-09-25 }} O'Connor became the foundation's president, a position he held for more than three decades. His first task was to create a network of local chapters that could raise money and deliver aid; more than 3,100 county chapters were established during his tenure.

The name "March of Dimes" — a play on the contemporary radio and newsreel series, The March of Time — was coined by stage, screen and radio star Eddie Cantor.{{cite web |last1=Barrett |first1=William P. Barrett |title=March Of Dimes' Second Act |url=https://www.forbes.com/2008/11/19/march-dimes-revinvention-pf-charities08-cx_wb_1119dimes.html |website=Forbes |access-date=27 April 2021 |date=Nov 19, 2008}}{{cite web |url=http://www.history.com/news/franklin-roosevelts-personal-polio-crusade |title=Franklin Roosevelt's Personal Polio Crusade, 75 Years Ago|last1=Maranzani |first1=Barbara |date=January 3, 2013 |publisher=History.com |access-date=2015-10-02 }} He inspired a nationwide fundraising campaign in the week preceding President Roosevelt's birthday on January 30, 1938. Lapel pins were sold for ten cents (a dime) each; special features were produced by the motion picture studios and radio industry; and nightclubs and cabarets held dances and contributed a portion of the proceeds.{{cite news |author= |title=Three Home From Paralysis Session |newspaper=The Bakersfield Californian |date=January 5, 1938}} As Cantor himself stated, "The March of Dimes will enable all persons, even the children, to show our President that they are with him in this battle against this disease. Nearly everyone can send in a dime, or several dimes. However, it takes only ten dimes to make a dollar and if a million people send only one dime, the total will be $100,000." Cantor's appeal collected only few dimes and donations to begin with; just $17.50 had been sent in to the White House in two days, but what followed was a flood: by January 29, over 80,000 letters with dimes, quarters and dollars poured into the White House mail room so that official correspondence to the president was buried in donation letters, with a final count of 2,680,000 dimes or $268,000 donated in what the press called "a silver tide which actually swamped the White House."{{cite news |author= |title=Star Cast to Take Air Tonight in Behalf of March of Dimes Drive |newspaper=Abilene Reporter-News |date=January 22, 1939}} Roosevelt went on the air to express his thanks, saying:

{{blockquote|During the past few days bags of mail have been coming, literally by the truck load, to the White House. Yesterday between forty and fifty thousand letters came to the mail room of the White House. Today an even greater number — how many I cannot tell you — for we can only estimate the actual count by counting the mail bags. In all the envelopes are dimes and quarters and even dollar bills — gifts from grown-ups and children — mostly from children who want to help other children get well. … It is glorious to have one's birthday associated with a work like this.|Franklin D. Roosevelt in his birthday celebration broadcast January 30, 1938.{{cite web |url=http://www.disabilitymuseum.org/dhm/lib/detail.html?id=2155&&page=all |title=The President's Birthday Message|last=Roosevelt |first=Franlin D. |date=January 30, 1938 |website=Disability History Museum |publisher=National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis |access-date=2015-03-09}}}}

Donald Anderson was the very first "poster child" to raise money for the March of Dimes. He was from Oregon and had been diagnosed with polio in 1943. Photos were taken of Donald in an almost-paralyzed state. Another photo was taken seven months later to show how he had improved after receiving treatment funded by the foundation. His story was meant to show how regular, everyday Americans had helped Donald during his time in the polio ward by donating to the March of Dimes.{{Cite book|last=Oshinsky|first=David M.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56834404 |title=Polio : an American story|date=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-515294-8|location=Oxford|oclc=56834404}}

The March of Dimes was the title used for the foundation's annual fundraising event that requested each child donate a dime. At the Christmas season, booths were set up in cities where the children could drop their dime in a slot. These were out on the street and sometimes not even overseen by anyone. Gradually the name became synonymous with that of the organization.{{cite journal|first=William H. |last=Helfand|author-link=William H. Helfand|title='...So that others may walk': So be good. The March of Dimes.|year=2001|journal=American Journal of Public Health |volume=91|issue=8|page=1190 |doi=10.2105/ajph.91.8.1190|pmid=11499100|pmc=1446742}}

"His genius was in generating large numbers of relatively small contributions for a cause," The New York Times wrote of O'Connor. "Over the years he collected and spent more than seven billion dimes — many of them from schoolchildren — with a half-billion dollars of it going to the war on polio."File:Dime Obverse 13.png

Publisher Gerard Piel credited O'Connor with a "unique social invention: a permanently self-sustaining source of funds for the support of research — the voluntary health organization." With a centralized administration, state and local chapters and a large corps of volunteers, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis became the prototype for dozens of similar foundations.

In 1945, a journalist named Elaine Whitelaw created the women's division for the March of Dimes. Her main reason for doing so was to empower women, as primary caregivers, to come together to support the foundation's cause. The division's very first event was a fashion show in the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, which was a great success and had a large turnout. An award would later be named in her honor, as the Elaine Whitelaw Volunteer Service Award is listed as "the most prestigious award March of Dimes presents to recognize a lifetime of distinguished volunteer service."{{Cite web |date=2022-04-04 |title=Volunteer Awards |url=https://volunteer.marchofdimes.org/volunteer-awards/ |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=Volunteer Learning Center |language=en-US}}

Following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, there was an entirely new challenge to fighting polio: Hollywood studios decided that the March of Dimes would no longer be allowed to collect donations from movie theater audiences, taking away a great portion of the foundation's funding. The foundation realized that his connection to the people, and to polio, was what had made Roosevelt effective at raising funds. The foundation sought a new way to make people feel a connection to polio by reminding families that this disease cripples small children and that mothers, especially, should protect those children. Because Franklin D. Roosevelt founded the March of Dimes, a redesign of the dime was chosen to honor him after his death. The Roosevelt dime was issued in 1946, on what would have been the president's 64th birthday.

In 1950, a group of Phoenix women, aware of the urgency of funding shortages at the Maricopa County March of Dimes, created the first Mothers' March on Polio establishing the model that the national foundation would adopt and spread nationwide starting in 1951.Oshinsky, David M. (2005). Polio: An American Story. Oxford University Press. pp. 87–90. {{ISBN|9780199840083}}. Between 1951 and 1955, contributions to March of Dimes doubled to $250 million, which the organization's fundraising department attributed to the nationwide introduction of the Mothers' March on Polio calling the campaign, "the single greatest activity in the entire March of Dimes."

From 1938 through the approval of the Salk vaccine in 1955, the foundation spent $233 million on polio patient care, which led to more than 80 percent of U.S. polio patients' receiving significant foundation aid.{{cite book|last=Oshinsky|first=David |title=Polio: an American Story|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-515294-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/polioamericansto00oshi/page/65 65]|url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/polioamericansto00oshi/page/65 |year=2005}}

Around the same time, Albert Sabin (also with funding from the March of Dimes) developed a simpler version of the vaccine, which was based on an attenuated live version of the polio virus.{{Cite web |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/404390/the-myth-of-jonas-salk/ |title=The Myth of Jonas Salk |last=Matysiak |first=Angela |year=2005 |website=MIT Technology Review |publisher=MIT}}{{cite journal|last1=Larsen|first1=Dawn|title=The March of Dimes and Polio|journal=American Journal of Health Education|volume=43|issue=1|year=2012|pages=47–54|issn=1932-5037|doi=10.1080/19325037.2012.10599217|s2cid=72084666}} Both Salk's version and Sabin's version had potential safety concerns; Salk's vaccine had the risk of a virus which is not completely inactivated, while Sabin's vaccine had the risk of reversion to virulence.{{cite book|first=Christiane |last=Nockels Fabbri|title=From Anesthesia to X-Rays: Innovations and Discoveries That Changed Medicine Forever: Innovations That Changed Medicine Forever|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PWhoDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA151 |date=November 30, 2016|publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-574-9|pages=150–152}}

In 1955, a batch of Salk's vaccine made by Cutter Laboratories in Berkeley, California was inadequately inactivated and, as a result, 11 children died. After this incident, production methods were changed and no further incidents were reported. Sabin became highly critical of O'Connor and the March of Dimes, who he believed were biased towards Salk's vaccine and made statements inconsistent with the scientific research. In the meantime, trials of the vaccine based on Sabin's version were carried out in the Soviet Union with important contributions made by Mikhail Chumakov.

In 1958, the Soviet Union organized industrial production of this vaccine and polio was largely eradicated in Eastern Europe and Japan. This success led to trials in the United States as well and the licensing of Sabin's vaccine in 1961, over the considerable opposition of the March of Dimes, which supported Salk's vaccine. Eventually, Sabin's vaccine superseded Salk's vaccine based on its advantages, which included a simpler (oral) administration and lifelong immunity.

File:Birthday-Ball-Check-May-1934-2.jpg|FDR receives a $1 million check, proceeds from the first President's Birthday Ball (1934)

File:Birthday-Ball-Group-1937.jpg|Eleanor Roosevelt with celebrities invited to Washington, D.C., for the 1937 President's Birthday Ball

File:FDR-Enrolled-Founder-1938.jpg|FDR buys a certificate enrolling him as "Founder No. 1" of the new National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (1938)

File:Presidents-Birthday-Ball-1939.jpg|Poster for the 1939 President's Birthday Ball

File:ER-President's-Birthday-Ball-Ticket-1940.jpg|Eleanor Roosevelt buys the first ticket for the 1940 President's Birthday Ball

File:Glenn-Miller-President's-Birthday-Ball-1942.jpg|Glenn Miller recorded Irving Berlin's "At the President's Birthday Ball" (1942)

File:Roosevelt OConnor.jpg|FDR with Basil O'Connor (1944)

File:Birthday-Ball-Life-1944.jpg|Eleanor Roosevelt with celebrities invited to Washington, D.C., for the 1944 President's Birthday Ball

File:Birthday-Ball-Lucille-Ball-ER-Life-1944.jpg|Eleanor Roosevelt and Lucille Ball at the 1944 President's Birthday Ball

File:Red Skelton and John Garfield at FDR Birthday Ball 1944.jpg|1944 President's Birthday Ball

File:Birthday-Ball-Group-1945.jpg|Eleanor Roosevelt with celebrities invited to Washington, D.C., for the 1945 President's Birthday Ball

File:Salk March of Dimes poster.jpg

Following widespread use of the polio vaccine, the organization was faced with disbanding or steering its resources toward a new mission. Basil O'Connor, then the organization's president, directed his staff to identify strengths and weaknesses and reformulate its mission. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis (NFIP) shortened its name to the National Foundation (NF) in 1958 and launched its "Expanded Program" against birth defects, arthritis, and virus diseases, seeking to become a "flexible force" in the field of public health.Katz, Michael. "A Genetic Pioneer Focused On Child Health Challenges." Nature Neuroscience 9.10 (Oct. 2006): PsycINFO. Web. 21 Dec. 2011.Bustos, Joseph. "Volunteers march on." The Daily Gazette (Sterling, IL) 07 Apr. 2008: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 21 Dec. 2011.

In the mid-1960s, the organization focused its efforts on prevention of birth defects and infant mortality, which became its mission. At that time, the cause of birth defects was unknown; only the effects were visible. In 1976, the organization changed its name to the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation. Reducing the toll of premature birth was added as a mission objective in 2005.

Rubella, also called German measles, is associated with a disorder called congenital rubella syndrome, which can cause miscarriages and birth defects such as deafness, blindness and intellectual disability.{{cite journal|vauthors=Siegel M, Fuerst HT, Guinee VF |title=Rubella epidemicity and embryopath. Results of a long-term prospective study.|year=1971|volume=121|issue=6|pages=469–73|doi=10.1001/archpedi.1971.02100170051003|pmid=5581012|journal=American Journal of Diseases of Children}} Vaccination is an effective preventive measure. On behalf of the March of Dimes, Virginia Apgar testified to the United States Senate in 1969 about the importance of federal funding of a rubella immunization program,{{cite web|title=The Virginia Apgar Papers|url=http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/CP/B/B/G/K/|publisher=National Library of Medicine Profiles in Science website|access-date=October 11, 2010}} and the organization funded{{clarify|date=October 2011}} a vaccine, which was licensed in the early 1970s.{{cite journal|title=And Down Will Come Baby|journal=Orange Coast Magazine|date=November 1989|pages=98–112}} In 2006, a statement published in Birth Defects Research Part A credited the "remarkable success of the immunization program to eliminate rubella is due to joint efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, various state and local health departments, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the March of Dimes".{{cite web|title=Science Daily|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060408235206.htm|work=Congenital Rubella Nearly Eradicated in United States|access-date=October 11, 2010}}

In 1976, the March of Dimes published a report titled Toward Improving the Outcome of Pregnancy (TIOP), and in 1993 they published Toward Improving the Outcome of Pregnancy: The 90s and Beyond (TIOP II).{{cite journal|title=AAP Policy Statement: Levels of Neonatal Care|journal=Pediatrics|date=November 2004|volume=114|issue=5|series=5|pages=1341–1347|doi=10.1542/peds.2004-1697|pmid=15520119|df=mdy-all|last1=Stark|first1=A. R.|author2=American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Fetus Newborn|doi-access=free}} TIOP "stratified maternal and neonatal care into 3 levels of complexity and recommended referral of high-risk patients to centers with the personnel and resources needed for their degree of risk and severity of illness." TIOP was published when "resources for the most complex care were relatively scarce and concentrated in academic medical centers." TIOP II updated care complexity designations from levels I, II and III to basic, specialty and subspecialty, and the criteria were expanded.

In 2001, the March of Dimes introduced a family support program for those with babies in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).{{cite web|title=March of Dimes Prematurity|url=http://www.marchofdimes.org/baby/the-nicu-family-support-program.aspx|access-date=October 12, 2010|archive-date=July 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210730125618/https://www.marchofdimes.org/baby/the-nicu-family-support-program.aspx|url-status=dead}} The program seeks to educate NICU staff to communicate effectively with patients' families.{{cite web|last=McGann|first=E|title=Staff-Family Communications in the NICU: An Expert Interview with Liza Cooper|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/729514|publisher=Medscape Medical News|access-date=October 12, 2010}}{{cite web|title=Hospital Announces Partnership|url=http://cjonline.com/news/business/2009-11-03/hospital_announces_partnership|work=Topeka Capital Journal|access-date=October 12, 2010}} The March of Dimes hosted the Symposium on Quality Improvement to Prevent Prematurity in October 2009.{{cite book|last=Hikel|first=K|title=Preventing Prematurity: An Expert Interview With Alan R. Fleischman, M.D.|year=2009|publisher=Medscape Ob/Gyn & Women's Health|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/713745}}{{cite journal|last=Freda|first=MC|title=Quality: Fashionable Again|journal=MCN: The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing|date=March–April 2010|volume=35|issue=2|series=2|pages=69|url=http://www.nursingcenter.com/library/JournalArticle.asp?Article_ID=984109|access-date=November 4, 2010|doi=10.1097/nmc.0b013e3181cde3e9|pmid=20215944|url-access=subscription}}{{cite web|title=Experts to Review Quality Improvement Programs to Prevent Preterm Birth|url=http://www.playgroundgazette.com/2009/9/Experts_to_Review_Quality_Improvement_Programs_to_Prevent_Preterm_Birth|work=Playground Gazette|access-date=November 4, 2010}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In December 2010, the March of Dimes released TIOP III, subtitled Enhancing Perinatal Health Through Quality, Safety, and Performance Initiatives.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is categorized as a group of birth defects ranging from mental retardation to various growth and behavioral problems.{{cite web|title=National Institutes of Health|url=https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/fetalalcoholsyndrome.html|publisher=MedLine Plus Website|access-date=October 12, 2010}} The March of Dimes has provided grant funding for FAS research,Caley, Linda, M., Sara Riemer, and Helen, S. Weinstein. "Results Of A Nurse-Led Workshop Designed To Prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder." Public Health Nursing 27.3 (May/Jun. 2010): 232–239. CINAHL with Full Text. Web. 21 Dec. 2011.K Kyndely, et al. "Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Prevention: An Exploratory Study Of Women's Use Of, Attitudes Toward, And Knowledge About Alcohol." Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners 17.5 (May 2005): 187–193. CINAHL with Full Text. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. and they supported the National Council on Alcoholism in its push for legislation to bring public attention to the dangers of alcohol use by pregnant women.{{verify source|date=October 2011}} This led to a 1989 law mandating a warning label about the risk of birth defects that alcoholic beverages still carry today.{{cite journal|title=And Down Will Come Baby|journal=Orange Coast Magazine|date=Nov 1989|pages=98–112}}{{verify source|date=October 2011}}Paddock, Richard C. "Alcohol Warning Label Bill Is Derailed in Legislature." Los Angeles Times 23 May 1987. 23 May 1987. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-05-23-mn-2051-story.html Web.] 21 Dec. 2011.

The March of Dimes has campaigned for public education on folic acid,{{cite web|last=Nobrega|first=S|title=Building a sustainable infrastructure for statewide folic acid education: The March of Dimes National Folic Acid Campaign|url=http://apha.confex.com/apha/131am/techprogram/paper_65625.htm|work=American Public Health Association Meeting|access-date=October 12, 2010}} a vitamin which can prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly if mothers have enough of it in their body. The March of Dimes has funded polls on folic acid from The Gallup Organization.{{cite web|last=Robison|first=J|title=More Women Aware of 'Pre'-Prenatal vitamin|date=4 June 2002|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/6130/more-women-aware-preprenatal-vitamin.aspx|access-date=November 5, 2010}} Analysis of some of the results, said that women aged 18–24 years had the least awareness regarding folic acid consumption or knowledge about when it should be taken.{{cite journal|title=Use of Supplements Containing Folic Acid Among Women of Childbearing Age – United States, 2007|journal=MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report|date=11 January 2008|volume=57|issue=1|series=1|pages=5–8|url=https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5701a3.htm|access-date=November 5, 2010|pmid=18185493|author1=Centers for Disease Control Prevention (CDC)}} On the issue, the organization partnered with the Grain Foods Foundation, an industry group, in public education efforts.{{cite news|last=Painter|first=K|title=A little slice of folic acid can help prevent birth defects|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/painter/2008-01-20-your-health_N.htm|access-date=November 5, 2010|newspaper=USA Today|date=January 20, 2008}}{{cite news|title=New Folic Acid Seal Helps Women Choose Enriched Grain Foods To Help Prevent Birth Defects|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080111100627.htm|access-date=November 5, 2010|newspaper=Science Daily|date=January 15, 2008}}

Awareness about preterm birth, which is associated with a variety of negative health outcomes, is an organizational goal. According to an editorial in the May 2004 issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association, the original goals of the campaign were to raise awareness of the problem from 35 percent to at least 60 percent and to decrease the rate of premature births by at least 15 percent (from 11.9 percent to 10.1 percent).{{cite journal|last=Allen & Green|title=March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign: A Call to Action|journal=J Natl Med Assoc|year=2004|volume=96|issue=5|pages=686–688|pmc=2640653|pmid=15160986}} In 2008, the Prematurity Campaign was extended by the Board of Trustees until 2020, and global targets were set for prematurity prevention.{{cite document|title=Prematurity Campaign Report and Future Recommendations|publisher=March of Dimes Foundation|year=2008}} In 2008, the March of Dimes started its annual Premature Birth Report Card, which grades the nation and each individual state on preterm birth rates.{{cite news|title=U.S. Gets a 'D' for Preterm Birth Rates|url=http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2008/11/12/us-gets-a-d-for-preterm-birth-rates.html|access-date=November 5, 2010|newspaper=U.S. News & World Report|date=November 12, 2008}}

March of Dimes states on its website that it supports mandated newborn screening of all babies in all states in the U.S. for at least 30 life-threatening conditions for which effective treatment and reliable testing are available to prevent catastrophic consequences to the child.{{cite web|title=March of Dimes Website|url=http://www.marchofdimes.org/professionals/newborn-screening-what-caregivers-need-to-know-online-course.aspx|access-date=October 12, 2010|archive-date=September 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903134911/http://www.marchofdimes.org/professionals/newborn-screening-what-caregivers-need-to-know-online-course.aspx|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last=Bern|first=S|title=Expanding newborn screening: From advocacy to program implementation|url=http://apha.confex.com/apha/133am/techprogram/paper_104900.htm|work=American Public Health Association website|access-date=October 12, 2010}}

In 2003, the March of Dimes began releasing an annual, state-by-state report card on each state's adoption of expanded newborn screening recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics. March of Dimes president Jennifer L. Howse, Ph.D. has stated that this program is intended to inform parents of the tests available in their state, enabling those with affected babies to pursue early treatment.{{cite journal|title=The March of Dimes Release Annual Report Card on Newborn Screening Program: A Newsmaker Interview with Jennifer Howse, PhD|journal=Medscape Medical News|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/508876|access-date=October 12, 2010}}

According to a presentation at the 2005 annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, individual, state-based March of Dimes chapters work with governors, state legislators, health departments, health professionals, and parents to improve state newborn screening programs and to make comprehensive newborn screening programs available to every newborn throughout the country.{{cite web|last=Berns|first=S|title=Expanding newborn screening: From advocacy to program implementation|url=http://apha.confex.com/apha/133am/techprogram/paper_104900.htm|work=American Public Health Association|access-date=October 12, 2010}}

In 2005, only 38 percent of infants were born in states that required screening for 21 or more of 29 core conditions recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics; but by 2009, all 50 states and the District of Columbia required screening for 21 or more of these treatable disorders.{{cite web|title=Science Daily|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090218080936.htm|access-date=October 12, 2010}}

NICU Family Support

March of Dimes introduced the NICU Family Support{{Cite web|title=NICU Family Support®|url=https://www.marchofdimes.org/nicufamilysupport/index.aspx|access-date=2020-09-21|website=www.marchofdimes.org|language=en}} program in 2001 to provide information and comfort to families during the NICU hospitalization of their newborn and to contribute to NICU staff professional development. Today it operates in 68 hospitals in the United States to serve more than 50,000 families annually. In 2018, March of Dimes released the My NICU Baby app{{Cite web|title=My NICU Baby App|url=https://www.marchofdimes.org/nicufamilysupport/my-nicu-baby-app.aspx|access-date=2020-09-21|website=www.marchofdimes.org|language=en}} that provides families with information while in the NICU and to help them transition home.

The March of Dimes published its Global Report on Birth Defects in 2006, which estimated birth defects' global burden.{{cite journal|last=Laurence|first=J|title=Mediterranean Diet Reduces Birth Defects|journal=The Independent|date=31 January 2006|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/mediterranean-diet-reduces-birth-defects-525272.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111191233/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/mediterranean-diet-reduces-birth-defects-525272.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 11, 2012|access-date=November 7, 2010}}

In 2009, the March of Dimes partnered with the Department of Reproductive Health and Research of the World Health Organization (RHR/WHO) to publish a white paper on the global and regional toll of preterm birth worldwide. This report, which was the first attempt to identify the global scope of premature births and related infant deaths, found that an estimated 13 million infants worldwide are born premature each year and more than one million of them die in their first month of life. Further, premature births account for 9.6 percent of total births and for 28 percent of newborn deaths. The highest rates of premature birth are in Africa, followed by North America (Canada and the United States combined).{{cite news|title=1 Million "Preemie" Babies Die Each Year|url=http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2009/10/04/1-million-preemie-babies-die-each-year-report.html|access-date=November 7, 2010|newspaper=U.S. News & World Report|date=October 4, 2009}}

{{main|March for Babies}}

Established in 1970, the March for Babies, previously called WalkAmerica,{{cite news|last=Strom|first=S|title=March of Dimes Renames a Fund-Raiser|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/us/17march.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=march+of+dimes&st=nyt&oref=slogin|access-date=November 5, 2010|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 17, 2008}} is the largest fundraiser of the year for the March of Dimes, as well as the oldest nationwide charitable walking event.{{cite news|title=North Dakota Family Picked as March for Babies Ambassadors|url=http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/local/article_be9de330-2999-11df-b6e6-001cc4c002e0.html|access-date=November 9, 2010|newspaper=The Bismarck Tribune|date=March 8, 2010}} In the decades since, many other organizations have used the walkathon format to help raise money.{{cite book|last=Rose|first=D|title=March of Dimes|year=2003|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=0-7385-1253-2|pages=121}} Funds raised by the event support March of Dimes-sponsored research and other programs to prevent premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality.{{cite news|title=Children's Medical Center, March of Dimes Team Up for March for Babies event in Dallas|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/rmiller/stories/DN-p2milller_12bus.ART.State.Edition1.3db2c2a.html|access-date=November 9, 2010|newspaper=The Dallas Morning News|date=April 12, 2010|archive-date=July 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100703052533/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/columnists/rmiller/stories/DN-p2milller_12bus.ART.State.Edition1.3db2c2a.html|url-status=dead}}

According to the March of Dimes, March for Babies is held in more than 900 communities across the nation. Every year, 1 million people—including 20,000 company teams, family teams and national sponsors—participate in the event, which has raised more than $1.8 billion since 1970.{{cite web|title=March for Babies|url=http://www.marchforbabies.org/|access-date=November 9, 2010}} The March of Dimes states that seventy-six cents of every dollar raised in March for Babies is spent on research and programs to help prevent premature birth, birth defects and infant mortality.{{cite web|title=March for Babies|url=http://www.marchforbabies.org/why.aspx|access-date=November 9, 2010}}

The first person to walk for the March of Dimes was John Harrison Finger, a textile worker in High Point, North Carolina. In 1948, his daughter came home from school and asked for a donation for the polio fund. Finger replied that he did not have the money but that he would raise some. In what is thought to be the first walkathon in March of Dimes history, Finger walked 32 miles — round trip from High Point to Greensboro — and collected a total of $1,700 in a red wagon he pulled behind him. During his lifetime he walked more than 1,000 miles and raised $15,832 to benefit the charity. The March of Dimes formally created its nationwide WalkAmerica drive in 1971, and Finger was named "Mr. WalkAmerica" in 1983.{{cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Meg |date=November 12, 1986 |title=March of Dimes Lets John Finger Do the Walking to Raise Money |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-11-12-vw-28971-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=2015-10-14 }}{{cite news |last=Reade |first=Randy |date=December 23, 1989 |title=Obituary: John Harrison Finger, first walker to raise funds for March of Dimes |newspaper=Orange County Register }}

Once rare in the United States, cases of pertussis (whooping cough) are appearing across the country with greater frequency."'Sounds of Pertussis'" Campaign Makes Times Square Pit Stop." PR Newswire US 11 Aug. 2011: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. To address this issue, the March of Dimes and Sanofi Pasteur launched a national education campaign in 2010 called "Sounds of Pertussis" to raise awareness about the seriousness of pertussis and the need for adult vaccination to prevent infecting babies.{{cite web|last=Brady |first=S. |title=Health Care Salutes: Sounds of Pertussis Campaign |url=http://www.healthnews.com/family-health/child-health/health-care-salutes-sounds-of-pertussis-campaign-4497.html |publisher=Health News |access-date=November 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031154139/http://www.healthnews.com/family-health/child-health/health-care-salutes-sounds-of-pertussis-campaign-4497.html |archive-date=October 31, 2010 }} NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon is a national spokesperson for the campaign.{{cite web|title=Sounds of Pertussis Campaign|url=http://www.wtvq.com/health/4570-sounds-of-pertussis-campaign-features-nascar-champ-jeff-gordon|access-date=November 10, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227110214/http://wtvq.com/health/4570-sounds-of-pertussis-campaign-features-nascar-champ-jeff-gordon|archive-date=December 27, 2010}} The campaign recently sponsored a song-writing contest called Sound Off About Pertussis, which was won by Maria Bennett with her original song, "Give Pertussis a Whooping."{{cite news|title=Sound Off About Pertussis |url=https://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20101105-908720.html |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |access-date=November 5, 2010 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

To combat the state's high prematurity levels, in 2007, the March of Dimes, the Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute, and the Kentucky Department for Public Health partnered with six Kentucky hospitals to launch "Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait," a health promotion and prematurity prevention initiative intended to reduce the rate of preventable preterm births in targeted areas of Kentucky.{{cite news|title=Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait®|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2TaqxqoYG0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/i2TaqxqoYG0 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=November 7, 2010|newspaper=WSAV|date=April 7, 2008}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news|last=Rubin|first=R|title=Premature Birth Rate Drops 2nd Year in a Row, CDC Finds|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-05-12-preterm12_ST_N.htm|access-date=November 7, 2010|newspaper=USA Today|date=May 11, 2010}} Kentucky was chosen as a pilot due to an elevated preterm birth rate greater than the national average that had been steadily increasing over the past few years, its predisposition to adjustable risk factors such as smoking and nutrition, and the commitment and dedication of community leaders. In 2007–2009, the trial programs saw a 6.5% reduction in preterm birth rates.{{cite web|url=https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/LHI/whosleading.aspx|title=Who's Leading the Leading Health Indicators? – Healthy People 2020|website=www.healthypeople.gov}} The success of the program in the State of Kentucky led to the development of similar initiatives in New Jersey, Texas, New York, Kansas, and Illinois with upcoming sites in Florida and California.{{cite web|url=http://www.marchofdimes.org/professionals/healthy-babies-are-worth-the-wait.aspx|title=Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait|access-date=2017-05-06|archive-date=2018-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162428/https://www.marchofdimes.org/professionals/healthy-babies-are-worth-the-wait.aspx|url-status=dead}}

The primary goal of Healthy Babies Are Worth the Wait is a 15 percent reduction in the rate of singleton (one baby) preterm births in these targeted areas{{cite journal|title=Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Service press release|date=27 March 2007|url=http://chfs.ky.gov/news/Healthy+Babies.htm|access-date=November 7, 2010|archive-date=8 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108184638/http://chfs.ky.gov/news/Healthy+Babies.htm|url-status=dead}} through increasing knowledge and education regarding factors that increase the risks of preterm birth, influencing change in health care settings and creating new advancements in preventing preterm and low-birth-weight births. Other strategic goals include improving access to prenatal services and lowering the rate of early elective deliveries done before 39 weeks gestation.

The Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait initiative was developed based on five core concepts: Partnerships and collaborations, Provider initiatives, Patient support, Public engagement, and Progress measurement. The program encourages providers to educate patients on the risk factors and prevention methods for preterm births, inform women of childbearing age of the challenges of delivering prematurely, and distribute public information regarding the costs of prematurity on society ($26 million annually).{{cite web|title=Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait®. Preventing Preterm Births through Community-based Interventions: An Implementation Manual|url=http://fhop.ucsf.edu/sites/fhop.ucsf.edu/files/custom_download/HBWW%20manual%2012-21-10.pdf|website=Family Health Outcomes Project|publisher=University of California, San Francisco|access-date=2017-05-06|archive-date=2021-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017024339/https://fhop.ucsf.edu/sites/fhop.ucsf.edu/files/custom_download/HBWW%20manual%2012-21-10.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Program initiatives and services include progesterone shots given to pregnant women with histories of preterm births, encouraging folic acid usage and stress management during pregnancy, and developing strategies to eliminate cesarean deliveries and inductions before 39 week's gestation unless medically necessary. The program was implemented as a Best Practice in the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) in 2015.{{cite web|title=AMCHP Innovation Station: Sharing Best Practices in Maternal & Child Healthcare|url=http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/BestPractices/InnovationStation/ISDocs/HBWW_2015.pdf|website=AMCHP.org|publisher=Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs|date=2015}}

The March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center includes the PeriStats Web site, which provides free access to U.S., state, county, and city maternal and infant health data.{{cite journal|last=Young|first=J.|title=Medical Web Watch|journal=Southern Medical Journal|date=January 2008|volume=101|issue=1|pages=110|doi=10.1097/SMJ.0b013e31815ba5aa}}

• PREEMIE Reauthorization Act (S. 252; 113th Congress) – a bill that would reauthorize research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention related to preterm birth and take other actions to improve infant mortality rates.{{cite web|title=PREEMIE Reauthorization Act (S. 252/H.R. 541) |url=http://www.marchofdimes.org/advocacy/preemie-reauthorization-act.aspx |publisher=March of Dimes |access-date=11 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903131017/http://www.marchofdimes.org/advocacy/preemie-reauthorization-act.aspx |archive-date=3 September 2014 }}
• Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2013 (H.R. 1281; 113th Congress) – a bill that would amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize grant programs and other initiatives to promote expanded screening of newborns and children for heritable disorders.{{cite web|title=CBO – H.R. 1281|date=6 June 2014|url=http://www.cbo.gov/publication/45434|publisher=Congressional Budget Office|access-date=24 June 2014}}{{cite web|title=Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act|url=http://www.marchofdimes.org/advocacy/newborn-screening-saves-lives-reauthorization-act.aspx|publisher=March of Dimes|access-date=24 June 2014}} The March of Dimes described the bill as reauthorizing "critical federal activities that assist states in improving and expanding their newborn screening programs, supporting parents and provider newborns screening education, and ensuring laboratory quality and surveillance."
• State Children's Health Insurance Program reauthorization – a bill that supported the continuation of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), a program that provides health insurance to 11 million low-income children and pregnant women. In 2007 and 2009, March of Dimes partnered with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of Children's Hospitals (NACH) on the issue.{{cite news|last=Ault|first=A|title=Despite Congressional Fix, SCHIP Faces Shortfalls|url=http://www.internalmedicinenews.com/news/practice-trends/single-article/despite-congressional-fix-schip-faces-shortfalls/c4a26cd27d.html|access-date=November 11, 2010|newspaper=Internal Medicine News|date=February 1, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328174654/http://www.internalmedicinenews.com/news/practice-trends/single-article/despite-congressional-fix-schip-faces-shortfalls/c4a26cd27d.html|archive-date=March 28, 2012|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}{{cite news|last=Levey|first=N|title=Obama signs into law expansion of SCHIP health-care program for children|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-kids-health-care_thufeb05,0,30310.story|access-date=November 11, 2010|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=February 5, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430194400/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-kids-health-care_thufeb05%2C0%2C30310.story|archive-date=April 30, 2009}}{{cite news|last=Hibbard|first=S|title=Speaking for SCHIP|url=http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=325912&paper=72&cat=104|access-date=November 11, 2010|newspaper=Springfield Connection|date=February 19, 2009}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Virginia Apgar, M.D., the creator of the Apgar Score, joined the March of Dimes in 1959 and eventually served as vice president for medical affairs.{{cite web|title=Bio of Doctor Virginia Apgar, Changing The Face of Medicine Website|url=https://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_12.html|access-date=November 11, 2010}}

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has raised concerns about the March of Dimes funding medical research which involves cruelty to animals.{{cite web |url=https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/dont-the-march-of-dimes-experiments-on-animals-save-the-lives-of-children/ |title=Don't the March of Dimes' experiments on animals save the lives of children? |date=7 July 2010 |publisher=PETA |access-date=21 August 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://www.peta.org/blog/donating-easter-easterseals-march-of-dimes-animal-testing/ |title=Donating This Easter? Here's Why You Shouldn't Support March of Dimes |publisher=PETA |date=April 9, 2020 |access-date=21 August 2024}}{{cite web |url=https://marchofcrimes.com/ |title=Animal Testing Facts and Alternatives |publisher=PETA}}

In his book Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, sociologist Professor James M. Henslin describes March of Dimes as a bureaucracy that has taken on a life of its own through a classic example of a process called goal displacement. Faced with redundancy after Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine, it adopted a new mission, "fighting birth defects", which was recently changed to a vaguer goal of "breakthrough for babies", rather than disbanding.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/sociologydowntoe0000hens_a4i0_11thed/page/176/mode/2up?q=%22March+of+dimes%22 |title=Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach |last=Henslin |first=James M |year=2012 |url-access=limited |access-date=21 August 2024}}{{cite web |url=http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_henslin_sociology_7/19/5062/1295985.cw/content/index.html |title=Chapter Summary |access-date=2011-07-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927085017/http://wps.ablongman.com/ab_henslin_sociology_7/19/5062/1295985.cw/content/index.html |archive-date=2011-09-27 }}{{cite book |title= Organizations: Management Without Control|last= Greenwald|first= Howard P.|year= 2007|publisher= Sage Publications, Inc.|isbn= 978-1-4129-4247-8|pages= 369}}

{{As of|2024}} Charity Navigator, an organization that attempts to quantify the effectiveness of charities, has given the organization a rating of three stars (out of four) stating, "This charity's score is 85%, earning it a Three-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence." Historical ratings in the listing for the nonprofit shows that the rating was usually 2 stars out of 4 from 2003 to 2022 (with a few years it being 1 star); however, it also states that, "The historic rating mainly reflects a version of today’s Accountability and Finance score".{{cite web |url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/131846366 |publisher=Charity Navigator |title=Charity Navigator - Rating for March of Dimes |access-date=21 August 2024}}

{{As of|2024}} with respect to CEO salary, and the salaries of top paid employees, Charity Navigator has a listing called "Salary of Key Persons" with CEO Stacey D. Stewart's coming in at $607,033. In prior years, Charity Navigator would publish a study of CEO compensation, but appears to no longer do so.{{cite web |url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/__asset__/studies/2012_CEO_Compensation_Study_Final.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231117022159/https://www.charitynavigator.org/__asset__/studies/2012_CEO_Compensation_Study_Final.pdf |archive-date=2023-11-17 |access-date=2024-08-21 |title=Charity Navigator: 2012 CEO Compensation Study |date=November 2012 |publisher=Charity Navigator}}{{cite web |url=https://www.charitynavigator.org/donor-basics/giving-101/charity-compensation/ |title=Compensation for Nonprofit CEOs: The number isn't the full story. |publisher=Charity Navigator |author=Dan Pallotta}}

• :fr:Opération Pièces jaunes

{{Reflist}}

• Christianson, Arnold, Christopher P. Howson, and Bernadette Modell. "March of dimes." in Global report on birth defect. The hidden toll of dying and disabled children (2006): 10-16.
• Kluger, Jeffrey. Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio, (Berkley Books, 2006), history of the polio vaccine
• Oshinsky, David M. Polio: an American story (Oxford University Press, 2005) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cTliwSU62KIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=salk+oshinsky&ots=-pUNpwhpX1&sig=zvs_ShNm0hjrAEH5SFTy6EdbLCc excerpt], Pulitzer Prize
• Rose, David W. "Robert A. Good, the March of Dimes, and immunodeficiency: An historical perspective." Immunologic research 38 (2007): 51-54.
• Rogers, Naomi. "Polio chronicles: Warm Springs and disability politics in the 1930s." Asclepio 61.1 (2009): 143-174.
• Rogers, Naomi. "Race and the politics of polio: Warm Springs, Tuskegee, and the March of Dimes." American Journal of Public Health 97.5 (2007): 784-795. [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?output=instlink&q=info:E8F8UbX8zZ0J:scholar.google.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,27&scillfp=6817229367317318395&oi=lle online]
• Rogers, Naomi. "Resistance to Polio Vaccines in Mid-twentieth-century America: The Role of the March of Dimes, Community Skepticism, Racial Inequalities, and Medical Politics." Nursing History Review 31 (2023): 80-92.
• Rose, David W. Friends and Partners: The Legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Basil O’Connor in the History of Polio (Academic Press, 2016) [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=h7XoBgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=march+of+dimes+polio&ots=i2Y33ZSFvC&sig=cZNEEnatEDVb7ImydHSSsg303oY excerpt].
• Rose, David W. March of dimes ( Arcadia Publishing, 2003). [https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=G4wICnp1sE8C&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=march+of+dimes+polio&ots=iu1N9D-pW8&sig=XlR9FP3Yb7KtGwAsS9cMuH0HPDQ online]
• Walani, Salimah R., and Janis Biermann. "March of Dimes Foundation: leading the way to birth defects prevention." Public health reviews 38 (2017): 1-7.
• Wilson, Daniel J. "A crippling fear: experiencing polio in the era of FDR." Bulletin of the History of Medicine 72.3 (1998): 464-495. [https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/4146/summary excerpt] https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/bhm.1998.0163
• Zimmermann, Jonas. "War on Disease: Polio Eradication in the United States." Historia. Scribere 15 (2023): 263-280. [https://scribere.at/historia_scribere/article/download/4106/3017 online]

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.marchofdimes.org/ Official website]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaV7hqThZDk "At the President's Birthday Ball"] (1942) by the Glenn Miller Orchestra (YouTube)
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wbddZFJs_0 "Fund Raising for Roosevelt"], unissued British Pathé newsreel footage, without sound, of the 1944 March of Dimes and the President's Birthday Ball; incorrectly identified as political campaign fundraising (YouTube)
• [http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=America+Salutes+The+President%27s+Birthday America Salutes the President's Birthday] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510091658/http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=America+Salutes+The+President%27s+Birthday |date=2017-05-10 }} (March of Dimes fund appeals 1943–45) at the RadioGOLDINdex
• [http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/aboutfdr/birthday.html FDR's Birthday] at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

{{Franklin D. Roosevelt|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:March Of Dimes}}

Category:Polio

Category:Organizations established in 1938

Category:Medical and health organizations based in New York (state)

Category:Non-profit organizations based in New York (state)

Category:Health charities in the United States

Category:Franklin D. Roosevelt

Category:Preterm birth