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UCLA students are preparing for a week of activities centered around educating the community about the dangers of premature births. They hope to teach others on campus about the risks and issues concerning babies born early.

Next Tuesday, selected buildings across the country, from banks and bridges to the Empire State Building, will glow blue and pink to acknowledge National Prematurity Awareness Day, showing their support for increased research into the causes and techniques for prevention of premature births.

UCLA student members of the March of Dimes Collegiate Council will be recognizing the holiday as well, with a week’s worth of activities to educate students about the risks prematurity poses to children.

Student members of the March of Dimes will be tabling at the Court of Sciences and UCLA Medical Center on Monday through Thursday of next week, providing passersby with information regarding who is at risk for having premature babies, how people can reduce those risks and what students can do to communicate this information to the public.

“It’s good to educate students because we’re well-educated enough to spread the word,” said Linh Bui, a fourth-year physiological science student and treasurer of the UCLA division of the March of Dimes Collegiate Council.

“We want to educate the community all around about it – to have people realize that it is a prevalent problem,” Bui said, especially because the rate of premature births nationwide has increased by 29 percent since 1981.

“It’s the second-leading cause of death in the first year of life. ... One in eight babies in this country is born prematurely,” said Barbara Rosen, senior director of program services at the Southern California chapter of the March of Dimes

Visual problems, brain disorders, chronic lung disease and learning disabilities are just some of the problems that approximately 100,000 “preterm” babies – babies that are born less than 37 weeks into a pregnancy, instead of the usual 40 weeks – suffer from each year, Rosen said.

“It affects everybody,” said Cathy Nguyen, a fourth-year physiological science student and active member of March of Dimes on campus. “It’s so prevalent, and it’s personal. All my siblings and I have been preemies.”

The student members of the March of Dimes hope to set up a clothesline display of paper and cotton baby stockings, each representing a premature baby a table visitor has chosen to recognize, Bui said.

Visitors will even be able to experience what it is like to breathe with underdeveloped lungs.

“We would like to replicate the experience of a premature baby trying to breathe,” Bui said. “We would like students to breathe through a coffee straw only for 30 seconds, and see what it feels like. ... It’s just making the problems of these babies real (and showing) that there is a danger in being born premature.”

Educating the community and raising research funds are just some of the long-term goals of the group.

Besides teaching others about the issues concerning premature births, the March of Dimes often lobbies Congress to pass laws meant to decrease the risk of premature birth defects. Among the March of Dimes’ recent lobbying successes is the passing of a federal bill that will increase the number of disorders doctors screen for at birth from four to 70. These tests can lead to early detection, prevention and a cure.

Although the bill will not go into effect until August 2005, Rosen says the UCLA Medical Center is one of the few places in the state that is testing newborns for all 70 disorders right now.

“They’re ahead of the law,” Rosen said, “and that’s a really cool thing – we’re really proud of them.”

Nguyen explains that tests done on expectant mothers can alert doctors to problems with the fetus that are much less expensive to correct if they are caught early.

“Some things could be taken care of with a simple dietary change,” Nguyen said.

An increase in the amount of folic acid taken at least three months before a pregnancy, for example, can reduce the risk of spinal deformities in the baby by 70 percent, Rosen said.

Nguyen says that education about the dangers of prematurity can help mothers decide which tests they need, especially those of low socioeconomic status.

“Sometimes they just don’t think about (having tests) because they’re more worried about the finances right then,” Nguyen said. “People don’t realize that it will probably save them more in the long run. ... It’s an extra 60 bucks versus having to (spend) hundreds and thousands of dollars on procedures afterward – (such as) putting the baby on a respirator.”

Nguyen and Bui both encourage students to educate themselves about the risks of prematurity.

“College students probably think, ‘Oh, why do I have to care? I’m not having a kid right now,’” Bui said. “But it’s good information to know because you might want to have kids some day.”

Rosen stresses the importance of developing an active, healthy lifestyle for all women of childbearing age. “Plan your babies like you’re planning your career,” Rosen said. “The decisions and things women do when they’re young can really impact them later.”