About Us

Co-founded in 2010 by Russell Ruthen and Milton Kotelchuck, Day Before Birth seeks to support education and awareness on the opportunities to improve the quality of care in the days before birth and thereby strengthen the health of babies and mothers.

In 2013 the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded a grant to Day Before Birth to organize a conference whose goal was to improve the health and life course of premature infants by stimulating new research, practice and policy to increase appropriate utilization of antenatal corticosteroid treatment (ACT) and by developing comprehensive recommendations. It is estimated that ACT saves the lives of 1000 neonates in the US each year, and if all eligible were treated, it might save an additional 1000 newborns, a 5% reduction in national neonatal mortality rates. The conference was comprehensive, covering 9 topics ranging from patient-care barriers to perinatal quality initiatives to biomedical research. Nationally distinguished speakers led each session, providing an overview, organizing a panel discussion and proposing recommendations. On June 2-3, 2014—with the support of AHRQ, Day Before Birth, March of Dimes, ACOG and other partners—the conference was held at the Washington Dulles Marriott and brought together one of the largest and most diverse groups of 70 leading ACT experts to assemble in the past decade.

The conference leaders concluded that healthcare institutions would need at least five characteristics to achieve the full potential of ACT, including: 

● Instituting a comprehensive quality management system that addresses the root causes of low appropriate ACT treatment rates not only within a hospital but also in the surrounding community

● Empowering women to know the warning signs of preterm labor and ask for ACT

●  Establishing an evidence-based system for preterm labor assessment for all pregnant women with warning signs

●  Measuring ACT success rates in addition to treatment initiation

● Reaching all pregnant women regardless of race, ethnicity or socioeconomic background

Although Day Before Birth has suspended fundraising activities, it continues to partner with other organizations to advance three objectives:

● Address disparities in rates of antenatal corticosteroids treatment (ACT)

● Promote quality in perinatal/maternal care in birthing centers

● Advocate for biotechnology research for novel approaches to the detection of preterm labor

Additional information regarding the 2014 conference and other activities of the organization are available upon request:

info@daybeforebirth.org

Day Before Birth is a non-profit public charity 501(c)(3) that is registered and incorporated in Massachusetts.

Day Before Birth, daybeforebirth.org, and Day-Before-Birth logo are trademarks of Day Before Birth Inc. All rights reserved.