The care a mom gets during pregnancy can make a lifesaving difference. When Isamari was expecting her first child in 2002, she developed a serious complication, oligohydramnios. It meant she had too little amniotic fluid to support her developing child,increasing the risk of devastating consequences for her child.

But Isamari had the advantage of high-quality prenatal care, which let her doctors discover her condition during a routine visit. Her team could take active steps to protect her health and her unborn child’s. And Isamari could confidently participate in her own care, empowered by all she’d learned through March of Dimes: “I wasn't afraid to ask for what I needed,” she says. And when her son Ismael was born at just 35 weeks, she was prepared—or at least as prepared as any mom can be for an early birth.

Not all moms get good prenatal care, though—routine visits, careful screenings and timely interventions, or information to help them achieve the healthiest possible pregnancy. We make it our mission to change that. We push for improved access to care for all moms. We fight for improvements in the quality of care they receive. And we help them become powerful advocates for their own health and their babies’.