According to the report, 13.7 percent of babies born in North Carolina are born prematurely.

Gary Nelson, director of Cape Fear March of Dimes, said that though the cause for premature birth is unknown, there are some things linked to premature birth that can be avoided, like smoking and drinking. He also said that it’s important to note that a premature birth can happen to anyone.

“It does not matter if you are old or young,” he said. “However, it does affect the old, it affects the young. It affects the black, white, [and] Hispanic.”

Thirteen years ago, Amber Upchurch gave birth 11 weeks early to her daughter, Tiana. She weighed only two pounds at birth.

Upchurch said that preeclampsia brought on the early labor and caused her daughter to be born with cerebral palsy.

"She has to be given a bath, she has to have dinner fed to her, she still has to have her diapers changed. It's very hard," Upchurch said

Upchurch said she never gave the possibility of premature birth a thought, and that's why she decided to work with the March of Dimes. She said she wants other women to understand it could happen to anyone.

"I felt fine. I felt great. I felt the best I had felt throughout my whole pregnancy,” she said. “I went in and my doctor said, ‘you have, you know, a few symptoms. I believe you have preeclampsia and we are going to admit you to the hospital.’”

In its report, the March of Dimes gave North Carolina, as well as 18 other states, an “F” grade. No states earned an “A,” and only Vermont received a “B.”

The March of Dimes is calling on the federal government to increase support for research on premature birth. It’s also urging federal and state policy makers to expand access to health coverage for women of childbearing age.