January 1938
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt establishes the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis - a unique partnership of scientists and volunteers - to conquer polio.

Eddie Cantor creates the first grassroots fund-raiser for the National Foundation, asking the public to send dimes to President Roosevelt at the White House. The effort was called the March of Dimes, which later became part of the official name of the foundation.

1949
March of Dimes selects Dr. Jonas Salk to lead research on classifying polio viruses.

1953
Dr. Salk confirms the feasibility of a killed-virus vaccine for polio.

April 12, 1955
Salk vaccine is declared "safe, effective and potent."

1958
March of Dimes initiates the first concerted efforts to save babies from birth defects.

1961
Earlier March of Dimes work pays off in the development of the PKU test. This allows some forms of mental retardation to be prevented.

1970
First WalkAmerica events take place in San Antonio, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio.

1973
March of Dimes researchers discover that alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes birth defects.

1976
March of Dimes calls for creation of a regional system of newborn intensive care units (NICUs) to save sick babies.

1984
March of Dimes funds development of a newborn screening test for biotinidase deficiency, which can cause mental retardation and death unless treated promptly.

1985
March of Dimes funds research leading to the use of surfactant to treat respiratory distress syndrome(RDS). Danielle Cofey is one of first infants to be treated with life-saving surfactant therapy.

1991
March of Dimes funds research showing that delivering babies with spina bifida by cesarean section may save them from paralysis.

1994
March of Dimes launches nationwide campaign urging women to take the B vitamin folic acid to help prevent neural tube birth defects.

1995
March of Dimes grantees share Nobel Prize for research on fruit flies that identified master genes that control the early structural development of the body.

March of Dimes funds research showing that treating certain infections with antibiotics reduces the risk of preterm delivery.

1996
March of Dimes-supported research on nitric oxide leads to a new treatment to save premature babies from persistent pulmonary hypertension, a deadly lung disorder.

March of Dimes volunteers help secure passage of the Mothers’ and Newborns’ Health Protection Act, guaranteeing a minimum hospital stay of 48 hours following delivery.

With March of Dimes support, the FDA approves fortification of grain products with folic acid.

1997
March of Dimes volunteers help secure passage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), to provide health care coverage for up to 5 million children.

1998
March of Dimes volunteers help secure passage of the Birth Defects Prevention Act, establishing a nationwide network of birth defects monitoring and research programs.

March of Dimes research leads to one of the first successful surgeries to treat spina bifida before birth. Noah Kipfmiller is one of the first babies to undergo this pioneering open-womb surgical procedure.

2002
The March of Dimes promotion of folic acid fortification and awareness contributed to a 21 percent decline in the occurrence of neural tube birth defects between 1995 - 2000.

2003
March of Dimes launches a five-year, $75 million campaign to prevent premature birth and raise awareness of its serious consequences.

Contact Information

Please contact uclamod@ucla.edu for more information.