Feeding baby: New approaches use ‘active introduction’ rather than avoidance

On Thursday, Mar. 3, the UM Café Scientifique series features a group of expert panelists in discussion about allergies and feeding of infants, and the new approaches that use ‘active introduction’ rather than avoidance.

Join us online at 7 p.m. for “Feeding Baby: What, when and how to introduce foods,” moderated by Mae Santos, Registered Dietitian and master’s student from the Protudjer Lab.

Use the online viewing link at 7 pm on Thursday, Mar. 3 to watch the live stream.

Until recently, guidelines prescribed what foods parents should avoid feeding their infants, with the aim, in part, to prevent food allergies. Findings from the Learning Early About Peanut study caused pediatric societies worldwide to leap from active avoidance to active introduction.

Although active introduction may reduce the risk of certain food allergies, uptake of this approach has been slow, partly due to confusion around the dramatic shift.

Join our expert panel as they discuss this new approach, how it may prevent food allergies and hear practical guidance for families with infants.

Panelists:

• Dr. Elana Lavine, MD, FRCPC, is a paediatric allergist and clinical immunologist practicing in Toronto, and a staff physician at Humber River Hospital. She is an assistant professor in the departments of paediatrics at the University of Toronto and at Queen’s University (adjunct). She is the current Paediatrics Section advisor for the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 
• Dr. Edmond S. Chan, Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia (UBC), Clinical Investigator (BCCH Research Institute) and Head (UBC Division of Allergy & Immunology, BCCH)
• Dr. Jennifer Protudjer, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics and Child Health, Max Rady College of Medicine, UM’s Rady Faculty of Health Sciences; Endowed Research Chair in Allergy, Asthma and the Environment; Research Scientist, Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba 

Use the online viewing link at 7 pm on Thursday, Mar. 3 to watch the live stream.

Participate during the live session by asking your questions on the SLIDO platform at:

#CafeMarch https://app.sli.do/event/vmzfevjo

(No user registration needed.)

About UM Café Scientifique

The UM Café Scientifique series brings together experts with non-researchers (you, me, neighbours and friends) in a relaxed atmosphere (wherever you are joining us from virtually!), to learn about their research and the questions it raises. Cafés are scheduled throughout the academic year, on a weeknight, and encompass topics that reflect the breadth of research underway at the UM. They are hosted and organized by the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International).