Maternal death is on the rise in the United States. Each year 700-1200 women die from pregnancy or childbirth complications and black women are 3-4 times more likely to die of pregnancy or delivery complications than white women. Additionally, more than 1,000 babies die prematurely each year in North America. Dr. Kecia Gaither, MD, is our guest tonight on Late Night Health to discuss the many variables that contribute to this epidemic such as socioeconomic status, education, and access to healthcare and insurance coverage.
What can women and families do to combat these statistics and increase their odds of having a healthy pregnancy and childbirth experience? Dr. Gaither will tell our audience what steps need to be made when it comes to educating more women on how to avoid preterm births and other common complications during pregnancy. Driven by her mission to provide exemplary prenatal care to all women regardless of circumstance, Dr. Gaither specializes is high-risk pregnancies and has more than 20 years of professional experience.
Simple things like, vitamin D testing and providing vitamin D easily to all pregnant women can lower preterm births by 62 percent, according to a new study. This is especially important for pregnant women, and especially women of color, the majority of which are vitamin D deficient. The Organic & Natural Health Association is leading an international research initiative for vitamin health that will result in more scientific data on these nutrients for a variety of health conditions. The public is encouraged to have vitamin D levels tested with a home test kit that can be purchased online at www.nutrientpower.com.
Dr. Gaither goes into detail on all of this and so much more on this edition of Late Night Health.
