The non-profit Vitamin Angels is on a mission to improve nutrition for pregnant women, infants and children worldwide. As of last year, its U.S. program reached 500,000 underserved pregnant women, helping to provide access to essential nutrition for those most in need.
Despite being a developed nation, the United States faces a maternal health crisis with over a million underserved pregnant women lacking access to essential prenatal care and nutrition.
“It might surprise you, but the U.S. maternal mortality rate is the highest of all of the developed nations and more than double the rate of its peer countries,” said Colleen Delaney, PhD, technical advisor for Vitamin Angels’ U.S. programming.
“Over a third of U.S. counties are considered what’s called a ‘maternity care desert,’ meaning that there’s not a single birthing facility or obstetrician clinic available for folks. This affects over 2.3 million women of reproductive age, leaving them vulnerable to health disparities from a lack of access to essential services and care that can impact pregnancy.”
Dr. Delaney revealed how socioeconomic barriers, rural healthcare deserts and the absence of universal healthcare created a perfect storm of nutritional deficiency. She emphasized the importance of prenatal multivitamins containing folic acid, iron, folate and iodine—nutrients whose requirements can increase up to 50% during pregnancy.
Founded in 1994, Vitamin Angels reaches over 74 million women and children annually across 65 countries. The organization tackles “hidden hunger”—micronutrient deficiencies that persist even when calories are adequate—through strategic partnerships with health departments, federally qualified health centers and WIC programs.
“Our technical assistance ranges from providing counseling guidelines for their physicians or other staff on how to distribute prenatal multivitamins and how to counsel on taking them to addressing specific needs, like how to ensure that someone has adequate calcium intake during pregnancy because the prenatal multivitamins don’t always have them because they inhibit iron absorption,” she said.
With ambitious plans to double its impact and reach 140 million underserved individuals by 2033, Vitamin Angels is working on both grassroots delivery and policy-level change.
“Everyone deserves the opportunity to thrive,” Dr. Delaney said. “If that’s something that resonates, I encourage folks to reach out to see whether we can collaborate.”
To hear more on the work Vitamin Angels does in the U.S. and worldwide as well as how to get involved, listen to the NutraCast above or on your preferred podcast platform.
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