25 June 2024 – Ms. Magazine has published a new op-ed authored by Eleanor Crook Foundation (ECF)’s Managing Director, Kimberly Cernak. In the op-ed, Kim shares a personal story about her experiences giving birth to her children prematurely. While the causes of premature birth are multifaceted, malnutrition increases the risk of giving birth prematurely, and the risk of life-threatening conditions for mothers and their babies. She also discusses the critical need to increase access to a superior prenatal vitamin, known as multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS), for women living in low- and middle-income countries to meet their nutritional needs, where the prevalence of maternal malnutrition and risk of child mortality are already high.
The op-ed brings to light the health inequities in birth outcomes across the globe. This year, 1 in 10 babies globally will be born premature, with South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa having the highest rates of premature births. Tragically, 90 percent of the babies born too soon in lower income countries will not survive. Prenatal nutrition interventions such as MMS can help bridge this inquity gap.
