[2] After funding Jonas Salk's polio vaccine, the organization expanded its focus to the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality.

[6] The group was founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt on January 3, 1938, as a response to U.S. epidemics of polio, a condition that can leave people with permanent physical disabilities.

Lapel pins were sold for ten cents (a dime) each; special features were produced by the motion picture studios and radio industry; and nightclubs and cabarets held dances and contributed a portion of the proceeds.

"[12] Roosevelt went on the air to express his thanks, saying: During the past few days bags of mail have been coming, literally by the truck load, to the White House.

His story was meant to show how regular, everyday Americans had helped Donald during his time in the polio ward by donating to the March of Dimes.

"[8]Publisher Gerard Piel credited O'Connor with a "unique social invention: a permanently self-sustaining source of funds for the support of research — the voluntary health organization."

The division's very first event was a fashion show in the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, which was a great success and had a large turnout.

[14] Following the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, there was an entirely new challenge to fighting polio: Hollywood studios decided that the March of Dimes would no longer be allowed to collect donations from movie theater audiences, taking away a great portion of the foundation's funding.

[20] In 1955, a batch of Salk's vaccine made by Cutter Laboratories in Berkeley, California was inadequately inactivated and, as a result, 11 children died.

Sabin became highly critical of O'Connor and the March of Dimes, who he believed were biased towards Salk's vaccine and made statements inconsistent with the scientific research.

In the meantime, trials of the vaccine based on Sabin's version were carried out in the Soviet Union with important contributions made by Mikhail Chumakov.

[20][18][7] In 1958, the Soviet Union organized industrial production of this vaccine and polio was largely eradicated in Eastern Europe and Japan.

[25] In 2006, a statement published in Birth Defects Research Part A credited the "remarkable success of the immunization program to eliminate rubella is due to joint efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, various state and local health departments, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the March of Dimes".

[27] TIOP "stratified maternal and neonatal care into 3 levels of complexity and recommended referral of high-risk patients to centers with the personnel and resources needed for their degree of risk and severity of illness.

[27] In 2001, the March of Dimes introduced a family support program for those with babies in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

[31][32][33] In December 2010, the March of Dimes released TIOP III, subtitled Enhancing Perinatal Health Through Quality, Safety, and Performance Initiatives.

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is categorized as a group of birth defects ranging from mental retardation to various growth and behavioral problems.

[verification needed] This led to a 1989 law mandating a warning label about the risk of birth defects that alcoholic beverages still carry today.

[37][verification needed][38] The March of Dimes has campaigned for public education on folic acid,[39] a vitamin which can prevent neural tube defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly if mothers have enough of it in their body.

[47][48] In 2003, the March of Dimes began releasing an annual, state-by-state report card on each state's adoption of expanded newborn screening recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics.

[61] The first person to walk for the March of Dimes was John Harrison Finger, a textile worker in High Point, North Carolina.

In what is thought to be the first walkathon in March of Dimes history, Finger walked 32 miles — round trip from High Point to Greensboro — and collected a total of $1,700 in a red wagon he pulled behind him.

[68][69] Kentucky was chosen as a pilot due to an elevated preterm birth rate greater than the national average that had been steadily increasing over the past few years, its predisposition to adjustable risk factors such as smoking and nutrition, and the commitment and dedication of community leaders.

[70] The success of the program in the State of Kentucky led to the development of similar initiatives in New Jersey, Texas, New York, Kansas, and Illinois with upcoming sites in Florida and California.

Other strategic goals include improving access to prenatal services and lowering the rate of early elective deliveries done before 39 weeks gestation.

[73] Program initiatives and services include progesterone shots given to pregnant women with histories of preterm births, encouraging folic acid usage and stress management during pregnancy, and developing strategies to eliminate cesarean deliveries and inductions before 39 week's gestation unless medically necessary.

[83][84][85] In his book Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, sociologist Professor James M. Henslin describes March of Dimes as a bureaucracy that has taken on a life of its own through a classic example of a process called goal displacement.

Faced with redundancy after Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine, it adopted a new mission, "fighting birth defects", which was recently changed to a vaguer goal of "breakthrough for babies", rather than disbanding.