Published on September 10, 2015
September 10, 2015
EVERY new prenatal patient at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) will now be screened for vitamin D deficiency, and, they will have recommended supplementation to get their 25(OH)D serum levels to at least 40 ng/ml as part of the GrassrootsHealth Protect our Children NOW! Project, a Quality Improvement Program at MUSC.
According to Dr. Roger Newman, Director of Women’s Health Research, “MUSC OBGYN is trying to get ahead of the curve in terms of appreciating the importance and measurable benefits of an informed and proactive approach to optimal maternal nutrition and vitamin supplementation during pregnancy. We have been aware of the vitamin D deficiency state in the vast majority of our Caucasian patients and almost all our African-American patients for far too long. Now the evidence has accumulated of the high price we pay in terms of prematurity and other obstetrical complications from our failure to systemically address these deficiencies in maternal vitamin D levels.”
We applaud the Medical University of South Carolina for taking action to implement both the ethical and very practical thing to do – moving key vitamin D research into practice. They are leaders!