 Meghan Azad and Kelsey Fehr in MILC biorepository. Credit: University of Manitoba MILC Co-Director, Meghan Azad, was featured on University of Manitoba Ask an Expert Series. Dr. Azad addressed the question "What are the Health Benefits of Breastfeeding" - not just for babies, but also for mothers, families and society as a whole. The video was filmed at the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC), a Biorepository and Research Centre located at the Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM). Also featured in the video were MILC Research Associate Larisa Lotoski and Senior Data Analyst Kelsey Fehr. View the full video here.
 UM President Michael Benarroch in conversation with Meghan Azad. Credit: U Manitoba MILC Co-Director Dr. Meghan Azad was recently featured on Season 2 of "What's the Big Idea?", a podcast hosted by University of Manitoba President Michael Benarroch. The discussion focused on Dr. Azad's research about breastmilk and infant nutrition in Canada and globally, and how this impacts policy decisions and our understanding of human health. At the foundation of this research is the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC), a biorepository and research center storing more than 2000 breastmilk samples from mothers across the globe. Listen to full podcast here.
 Mediation models linking breastfeeding, postpartum depression, and child behaviour. Credit: BMC Public Health MILC members published "Examining psychosocial pathways to explain the link between breastfeeding practices and child behavior in a longitudinal cohort" in BMC Public Health. The study found that multiple breastfeeding metrics (eg. expressed breastmilk feeding, exclusive breastfeeding and longer duration of breastfeeding) were related to less postpartum depression and better parent child relationships, which in turn were linked with fewer child behaviour problems. When looking at all the data together, both postpartum depression and the parent-child relationship helped to explain (mediate) the link between breastfeeding and child behaviour. These findings suggest that efforts to support breastfeeding in any form (including expressed breast milk feeding), supporting parental mental health, and encouraging strong parent-child relationships could all have positive effects on child behavioural development. The study was led by MILC PhD candidate Sarah Turner together with MILC co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad. Read the full article here [PDF] and check out Sarah's [Tweetorial] on X.
 ISRHML Executive Committee. Credit: ISRHML Congratulations to MILC Lab co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, for being elected to the Executive Council of the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML) for a three year term. Dr. Azad brings a decade of experience in Human Milk research with expertise in Pediatrics, Nutritional and Immunological Sciences, and will support the committee in their collective and collaborative approach to achieve ISRHML's goals. More about the ISRHML can be found here.
 Moderator with Meghan Azad. Credit: Massey Grand Rounds MILC co-director, Dr. Meghan Azad, was featured on the Massey Grand Rounds Annual Symposium titled "Trust you Gut: The Microbiome in Health & Disease" in 2023. Dr. Azad was awarded the Jannet Rossant Lectureship and spoke about "Modelling Milk & Microbes: new approaches to understanding how breastfeeding supports the infant microbiome and lifelong health". View the full symposium here.
 MILC and UM research. Credit: University of Manitoba Drs. Katherine Kearns, Christina Raimondi, Meghan Azad, and Joanne Hamilton have received a grant to develop Open Education Resources focused on breastfeeding and lactation medicine. These interactive resources will be used to train medical students in Manitoba but will be Open Access and available to anyone. Read more and see which other U of M teams are creating resources at UM News.
 Human Milk Composition Article. Credit: Advances in Nutrition Recent MILC lab research is being recognized internationally: led by MILC Co-Director Meghan Azad, the IMiC Consortium published a large systematic review “Human Milk Composition and Child Growth and Body Composition in the First 2 Years: A Systematic Review". The work was featured by the American Society for Nutrition and highlighted by Dr. Ashley Vargas of the US National Institutes of Health in a commentary "Human Milk Composition: An Atlas Child for Child Health Recommendations". Follow the links to read more!
New Paper Series: Human Milk Composition and Child Growth and Body Composition in the First 2 years.12/6/2023
 MILC Club members have published a large systematic review involving over 25 authors who screened nearly 10,000 papers about human milk and child growth. Published in Advances in Nutrition, the project “Human Milk Composition and Child Growth and Body Composition in the First 2 Years: A Systematic Review” explores current evidence to help us better understand the link between human milk components and child growth from birth to age 2 years. Due to the large number of research studies in this area, results have been organized into three manuscripts dedicated to (1) human milk macronutrients, (2) human milk micronutrients, and (3) human milk biologically active (bioactive) components. This study was led by MILC Co-Director Dr. Meghan Azad together with former MILC postdoctoral fellows Dr. Merilee Brockway and Dr. Sarah Reyes. Read the full series here: Bioactive Components [PDF], Micronutrients [PDF], and Macronutrients [PDF].
 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.
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