Show Has as The TIle March Of Dimes Imes Assisted Me le What has the March of Dimes done for us lately Someone asked us this the theother theother theother other day saying now that polio is licked wheres where's the money going WE DECIDED to look into what the March of Dimes actually is doing these days The answer is PLENTY In the first place the former former former for for- mer polio fighters are now taking on the largest unmet childhood problem in the United States This is the way the American Academy of Pediatricians describes birth defects those conditions which result in an abnormal child being born to one in ten of our families each year BIRTH DEFECTS cause serious physical and mental disability among many thousands thousands thousands thou thou- sands of these babies They are also responsible for many more deaths annually than cancer when you consider the number of miscarriages and still births caused by defective prenatal development t Faced with a problem of enormous proportions w v e believe believe- the March farch has m has has' s moved Vc 6 both th- th swiftly s and rand efficiently IN JUST seven years it has become the largest private source of national support for research and care in birth de de- de- de It has created a nationwide network of centers to develop better methods of treating children with birth defects and to speed the application of new knowledge for their bene bene- fits MANY RESEARCH scientists supported by the March of Dimes are studying the nature of cells chromosomes body chemistry and systems seeking seeking seeking seek seek- ing to discover why birth defects defects defects de de- de- de occur and how they can be prevented That's just part of what the March of Dimes has been doing for us lately NO SO LONG ago these advances seemed out of reach Today scientists and the March of Dimes are looking to the day when scarcely any mother will have to ask Why did it happen to my baby |