Ellen Schleicher Pliska, Director, Family and Child Health, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Kristen Wan, Senior Analyst, Prevention and Health Promotion, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Prematurity is the leading cause of infant and newborn deaths in the United States. Each year, one out of every nine infants is born prematurely (CDC 2013). In response to the high U.S. infant mortality rate and associated health inequities, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials’ Healthy Babies Initiative helps state health officials and their staff improve birth outcomes by reducing infant mortality and prematurity.