Feeling uncharitable

[spyderella]

Can I admit that the March of Dimes really bugs me? They show these alarming numbers about premature babies...
Did you know that in Williamson County the latest records showed that a total of 5,000 children were born? Did you know 10 percent of them were preterm babies (being born at 36 weeks gestation or before)? Additionally, 6.5 percent were

Comments

[the_macnab]

Let's rewrite that paragraph without changing a single fact:

Did you know that in Williamson County the latest records showed that a total of 5,000 children were born? Did you know 90 percent of them were carried to full term? Additionally, 93.5 percent were born at normal birth weight (over 5.5 pounds) and 99 percent were born above very low birth weight (over 3.3 pounds). Ninety-seven percent were born free from birth defects, and, happily, 99 percent of the newborns in the NICU went home.

I like to do this exercise with scare stories like this one. When I read a piece like this, I always wonder if the writer is ignoring the numbers or if he or she just expects the reader to.

Also, notice that preterm is anything before eight months and three weeks? They say that 10 percent were preterm and add that 6.5 percent were born at low birth weight. What's the overlap of those categories, please? At the very least, we can assume that very low weight babies are also low weight babies, yes? And which 1 percent never made it home from the NICU? One percent of the total? One percent of the preterms? One term of the 3 percent with defects? If it's the first possibility, then holy heck. If it's the last one, then break out the champagne!