Sometimes, things really, really do happen!!!!
The
original research about pregnancy and its health outcomes with vitamin D was done by Drs. Bruce Hollis and Carol Wagner. The next stage was an
analysis of the data by serum level by GrassrootsHealth, showing a full 40-60% reduction in preterm births when comparing women in the randomized trial who had vitamin D levels of at least 40 ng/ml to those with levels below 20 ng/ml.
Proceeding this was the implementation stage by the Medical University of South Carolina, under the guidance of Dr. Roger Newman, of the GrassrootsHealth Protect our Children
NOW! project to test the vitamin D levels and provide supplements for all pregnant women. Publication of the
first set of results showed a very clear confirmation of the results of the earlier randomized controlled trial, that women who had vitamin D levels in the range of 40-60 ng/ml had a 40-60% lower risk of preterm delivery. Also, when black and Hispanic women had the same vitamin D levels as white women, the racial disparity in risk of preterm birth disappeared!
On March 28, a petition to the FDA was presented to request that dietary supplements with vitamin D be allowed to make a health claim regarding the association between vitamin D and a decreased risk of preterm births.
It's ready! We can't wait!!! In our most recent results with another year's worth of data conducted with 3000 women, the SAME results were yielded! With field trials, it takes more people and often a longer amount of time to reach the same significance to show causation as a clinical trial, but it has been done here.
A second hospital in South Carolina, Palmetto, has already initiated a Protect our Children
NOW! project and two more hospitals have asked to join!
Contributors to this current demonstration have played very important roles:
- The active participation of the hospital's OB department management, physicians, and administrative staff in using materials provided by GrassrootsHealth for their own education about vitamin D as well as for their patients
- All the state's health insurance providers have provided, and continue to provide, coverage for the vitamin D testing required (once at the first prenatal visit, another test at 28 weeks, another close to delivery)
Donations by key supplement suppliers have allowed the pregnant women to receive needed vitamin D supplements at no cost:
Bio-Tech Phamacal donated their 5000 IU supplements for MUSC, both Carlson Labs and NOW Foods are providing 5000 IU supplements to Palmetto Hospital. There are ongoing involvement of the researchers in giving presentations about the biology, effectiveness, and safety of vitamin D during pregnancy.
If your organization is ready to implement such a project, please let us know! We will quickly get back to you with the information needed to help you get started.
This is the beginning of a major new campaign for GrassrootsHealth to get the added participation of MANY individuals who care about this movement who can help us attain the contributions necessary to support the growth of this effort.
Please give generously to to GrassrootsHealth to support the education and continued development of personalized methods for patients and staff to assist them in reaching key health outcomes associated with vitamin D.
Let us know if you need help to host a special meeting at your home, engage with your company, or motivate others to join the effort to help move this forward quickly. It's READY! Please help us help the world have safer pregnancies.
