​On October 20, 2023, the Moms in Motion (MIM) Research Team, led by MILC Club Member Dr. Garry Shen, convened a meeting to discuss recent breastfeeding research findings, progress, and initiatives in Manitoba. Attendees included representatives from the University of Manitoba Departments of Pediatrics and Child Health, and Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science, the First Nation Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, the Winnipeg Breastfeeding Centre, the Manitoba Baby Friendly Initiative, and Shared Health. Dr. Shen and colleagues shared results from their new study showing that discontinuation of the lactation consultant program at some Manitoba hospitals was associated with a decline in breastfeeding initiation, particularly among First Nations and remote-living families. The group also discussed plans for a provincial breastfeeding strategy beyond hiring lactation consultants and will continue to meet periodically to advance this initiative.

THRiVE Lab members published "The Protective associations of breastfeeding with infant overweight and asthma are not dependent on maternal FUT2 secretor status" in Frontiers in Nutrition. This article follows up on previous THRiVE research to address the question: is breastmilk from non-secretors (a genetic trait carried by ~20% of people) inferior to secretor milk? By re-analyzing data showing beneficial associations between breastfeeding and infant growth as well as childhood asthma, the new study demonstrates that these relationships persist regardless of maternal secretor status. The findings suggest that secretor and non-secretor mothers can equally promote respiratory health and infant growth through breastfeeding. The study was led by MILC co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad together with lab members Dr. Melissa Manus and Stephanie Goguen. Read the full article [PDF] and check out Dr. Azad's [Tweetorial] on Twitter.