Kanawha County has Second-Highest Premature Birth Rates in the State

Nearly 12 percent of babies delivered in West Virginia are now born premature. The Mountain State places fourth in the country for the highest percentage of preterm births, at 11.8 percent. That’s an F grade from the March of Dimes’ 2017 Premature Birth Report Card. In Kanawha County, the pre-mature birth rate is 13.2 percent, which is near the highest in the state next to Boone County’s 15 percent. The report says improvement has come in or near the state’s Northern and Eastern panhandles.