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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Premature birth is a serious and growing problem | ||||||
| 3 | that affects families from every walk of life and in every | ||||||
| 4 | corner of the country; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, 12.8%, or one of every eight, of all babies born | ||||||
| 6 | in the United States are born prematurely; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Premature births have increased by 36% since the | ||||||
| 8 | early 1980s; and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, In the United States, prematurity/low birthweight | ||||||
| 10 | is the second leading cause of all infant deaths in the first | ||||||
| 11 | year of life and the leading cause of infant death among black | ||||||
| 12 | infants; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, Premature babies who survive may suffer life-long | ||||||
| 14 | consequences, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, | ||||||
| 15 | chronic lung disease, and vision and hearing loss; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Preterm birth and low birth weight are a | ||||||
| 17 | significant financial burden in health care; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, The medical, educational, and lost of | ||||||
| 19 | productivity costs associated with preterm birth in the United | ||||||
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| 1 | States was at least $26 billion in 2005; and
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Low birth weight, especially in conjunction with | ||||||
| 3 | environmental stress, is associated with the development of | ||||||
| 4 | diabetes and other chronic diseases later in life; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, It is a fact that pre-term infants are more likely | ||||||
| 6 | to have health problems that result in re-hospitalization; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The causes of premature births are not fully | ||||||
| 8 | understood; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The cause of approximately half of all preterm | ||||||
| 10 | births is completely unknown; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, To reduce the rates of preterm labor and delivery, | ||||||
| 12 | more research and funding is needed on the underlying causes of | ||||||
| 13 | preterm delivery, the prevention of preterm birth so that | ||||||
| 14 | babies are born full-term, and treatments improving outcomes | ||||||
| 15 | for infants born prematurely; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 17 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 18 | we recognize activities and programs that promote awareness of | ||||||
| 19 | and solutions to the dangers of premature birth across the | ||||||
| 20 | United States; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That we designate the 16th of every month in 2011 | ||||||
| 2 | as Premature Birth Prevention and Awareness Day in the State of | ||||||
| 3 | Illinois; and be it further | ||||||
| 4 | RESOLVED, That we encourage Congress to reauthorize the | ||||||
| 5 | PREEMIE Act, which is currently scheduled to expire at the end | ||||||
| 6 | of fiscal year 2011, to continue and enhance federal support | ||||||
| 7 | for research into the causes and prevention of premature birth | ||||||
| 8 | and to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity; and be it | ||||||
| 9 | further | ||||||
| 10 | RESOLVED, That we dedicate this resolution to the memory of | ||||||
| 11 | Leilani Marie Decker and her courageous struggle; and be it | ||||||
| 12 | further | ||||||
| 13 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 14 | presented to the Governor, the Speaker and Minority Leader of | ||||||
| 15 | the Illinois House of Representatives, the President and | ||||||
| 16 | Minority Leader of the Illinois Senate, and the members of the | ||||||
| 17 | Illinois congressional delegation.
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