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7341975
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March of Dimes Birth Defects Prevention Month, January 1976 [Proclamation]
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7341975
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document
title
March of Dimes Birth Defects Prevention Month, January 1976 [Proclamation]
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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7341975
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1975-12-18
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12
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1975
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[12-18-75]
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
March of Dimes Birth Defects Prevention Month
January 1976
Every year more than 200, 000 American babies suf-
fer birth defects. Some of these abnormalities are
relatively minor and can be corrected or treated to
reduce their harmful effects. Others cause lifelong
disability and limit individual fulfillment. Still others
are fatal, striking in either infancy or later life.
Some of these defects can be diagnosed before or im-
mediately after birth. Others may not show up until
many years later.
Nearly a quarter-million babies each year are threat-
ened by low birthweight. Infants weighing less than five
and one-half pounds are less likely to survive and devel-
op normally. Many are born prematurely. In others,
the underweight is due to abnormalities of pregnancy,
including maternal malnutrition.
About one-fifth of birth defects are inherited. Another
twenty percent are thought to result from environmental
influences, including drugs, viral infections and radia-
tion -- acting on the mother and fetus. The rest are
caused by a combination of both factors. More than two
thousand hereditary disorders have been catalogued.
And the list continues to grow. The potential for en-
vironmentally induced defects increases as man-made
substances enter the environment.
Many of these defects, particularly low birthweight, can
be prevented if we effectively apply present knowledge
and strengthen current prenatal and postnatal services.
We must do so now if we are to reduce human suffering
and costs to society in the future.
Digitized from Box 19 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
2
Continuing advances in medical technology are increas-
ing our ability to diagnose, prevent and treat some
birth disorders. Rapidly developing genetic services
allow parents to gain accurate information on their
chances of having children with certain heritable birth
defects.
But despite two hundred years of progress in nearly
every other field of human endeavor, the United States
sadly ranks but eighteenth among the nations of the
world in combatting infant mortality. For this reason,
I call upon the American people to join with me in ob-
serving January 1976 as March of Dimes Birth Defects
Prevention Month, and I salute those who have brought
national attention to this critical concern. Only through
the cooperation of government, voluntary agencies and
the people they serve can we begin to take significant
steps toward solving these problems.
I urge everyone to give special attention to efforts to
prevent birth defects and lessen infant death in this
country. I particularly emphasize to women of child-
bearing age the importance of seeking regular medical
care and maintaining good health in order to ensure
the best possible outcome of pregnancy.
Let us all heed the message of March of Dimes Birth
Defects Prevention Month: a healthy birthright for all
babies.