RUMFORD – From dusk on Tuesday, Nov. 13, through the end of the month, the Rumford Hospital lobby will be awash in pink and blue lights. Rumford Hospital is sponsoring a “Moment of Hope,” part of the March of Dimes national campaign for public awareness that preterm birth is a common, costly and severe problem.

About 12 percent of all live births in the U.S. each year are preterm. The premature birth rate has increased 29 percent in the last 20 years.

Prematurity is the leading killer of newborns in the first month of life and a major cause of cerebral palsy, mental retardation, blindness and chronic lung problems.

There will be a short ceremony in the Rumford Hospital lobby at 4 p.m. Nov. 13 as the lights are turned on. Jessica Howard will talk about her life as the mother of a “preemie” as she did last year.

Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited, particularly other preemies and their families.