Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) on Thursday introduced a bill (S 1726) that would require the federal government to spend approximately $75 million over five years to improve prenatal care and expand research into why more than 10% of infants in the United States are born premature, the Associated Press reports. Since the early 1980s, there has been a 25% increase in the number of U.S.-born premature infants, who are more likely than full-term infants to have heart defects, intestinal problems and breathing difficulties. According to March of Dimes Vice President Douglas Staples, fertility treatments account for a large number of the 12.5% of U.S. infants born premature, but experts do not know the reason for the rest of the preterm births. The proposed measure would fund educational programs about preterm labor and prenatal care and counseling programs for the families of preterm infants. Alexander said, "We need to do all we can to help parents raise healthy children. This bill targets the earliest and most critical stages of a child's life." According to Alexander, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families, the bill is likely to pass the Senate sometime next year. Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is pushing similar legislation in the House, according to the Associated Press (Zuckerbrod, Associated Press, 10/16).