When it comes to premature births in Florida, the state gets a D from the March of Dimes.

Pediatrician and maternal and child health researcher William M. Sappenfield, MD, MPH, addressed the state’s poor rating and solutions for improving it with the Tampa Bay Times and The Ledger in Lakeland.

Dr. Sappenfield is a professor and chair of the Department of Community and Family Health in the USF College of Public Health. He also directs the Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center  for Healthy Mothers and Babies. The department offers more than 10 concentrations that lead to MPH, MSPH, DrPH, and PhD degrees, as well as dual degrees, special programs, and an online graduate certificate in social marketing