💻 Online Course | 60 minutes
Understanding the earliest foundations of lifelong health
Breastfeeding and the infant gut microbiome are increasingly recognized as key determinants of long-term health outcomes. Emerging research shows that early microbial development may influence risks of conditions such as asthma, allergies, obesity, and other chronic diseases.
This course provides healthcare professionals with a concise, evidence-based introduction to how human milk shapes the developing infant gut microbiome, and how this knowledge can inform clinical guidance and patient conversations.
What You’ll Learn
Explain the role of breastfeeding in microbiome development
Describe how human milk influences the diversity and composition of the infant gut microbiome and its association with early immune and respiratory outcomes.
Analyze feeding methods and infant health outcomes
Compare direct breastfeeding, expressed breast milk, and formula feeding in relation to their effects on the infant gut microbiome and longer-term health implications.
Apply current research to clinical practice
Identify key bioactive components of human milk, such as human milk oligosaccharides and microbes, and use this knowledge to support evidence-based infant feeding guidance.
Meet the Faculty
Prof. Meghan Azad
She is a professor of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Manitoba, and studies how infant nutrition and the microbiome influence child development and long-term health. She directs the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC), leads the International Milk Composition (IMiC) Consortium, and serves as Knowledge Mobilization Chair for the CHILD Cohort Study. She also directs the THRiVE Discovery Lab and holds leadership roles in national and international breastfeeding and human milk research networks.