Presentation Information

Perinatal exposures, breastfeeding and the gut microbiome: Implications for lifelong health

• Speaker: Meghan Azad , PhD
• Presentation Type:
• Duration: 60 Mins
• Credits: 1 CERP, 1 Nursing CEU, 1 CME, 0.1 Midwifery CEU

Abstract:

Cesarean delivery, perinatal antibiotics, and formula feeding are associated with increased risks of asthma and obesity later in childhood. These effects appear to be partially mediated by disruption of the gut microbiome – a complex microbial community that is established at birth and develops rapidly during infancy, influencing host immunity and metabolism throughout the lifespan. Breast milk drives “normal” gut microbiome development by providing a natural source of probiotic microbes and prebiotic oligosaccharides. These associations and mechanisms are being studied in The Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) pregnancy cohort of 3500 infants followed from pre-birth through early childhood. Ongoing research in the CHILD cohort and recent evidence from other studies will be discussed.