I cannot think of anything more joyful than the birth of a child, but with no change in the rates of  preterm birth in the US, it is harder and harder each pregnancy to avoid being sucked into the fear that surrounds birth nowadays.

In the United States approximately 1 in 10 births is premature, about 10%. For comparison, rates around the world range from 5%-18%.

While preterm birth continues to be a disturbing problem in the US, financial investors seem to benefit from this distressing problem as outlined in the Neonatal and Prenatal Devices Market Report 2019-2024 that showed up in my inbox a few weeks ago.

According to this report, the market for neonatal devices related to preterm birth is on the rise, with the United States expected to dominate the market.

This report is not a medical report, but a report for investors who are looking to invest in the healthcare industry, and it does include other types of labor and birth technology, such as fetal heart rate monitors that improve upon current systems and are intended to lower the c-section rate.

However, what I am immediately struck by with this report is the fact that we continue to primarily focus on supporting premature babies instead of helping women avoid that situation from the start.

One reason for this focus is probably because preventing some of the premature babies is about helping mothers improve their overall health and nutrition, which does not bring in tens of thousands of dollars to the biotech or medical industries.

So if you want to do everything you can to avoid preterm birth, take your preventative health care into your own hands. Start by taking a look at your diet. It can be difficult in early pregnancy to get all the right foods or even swallow a supplement at times, but after the morning sickness passes, make sure you are getting 5-7 servings each day of fresh vegetables, plenty of protein and healthy fats from fish, avocado, butter, nuts and coconut. Collagen from marrow containing bones or collagen powder supplies essential nutrients for pregnancy as well and will help with the integrity of your skin to help reduce stretch marks and vaginal tearing during birth.

Our bodies are programmed for survival, and during pregnancy a mother's body will give as much as possible to her growing fetus, but there is a limit. A number of cases of preterm birth could be prevented by educating mothers in how to eat properly to support pregnancy, for if too few essential nutrients are coming into the body, eventually her body has no choice but to go into labor early to prioritize her survival.