Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the adaptability and resiliency of school food programs across Canada.

Introduction: Following the sudden closure of schools due to the pandemic in 2020, many school food program (SFP) operators lost their operating venues and had to innovate to continue distributing meals to children. Our objective was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery, adaptability, and resiliency of school food programs across Canada by conducting a systematic rapid review.

Materials And Methods: Systematic literature searches identified newspaper articles and social media sources related to the adaptations and challenges faced by school food programs across Canada in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Investigating infant feeding development in wild chimpanzees using stable isotopes of naturally shed hair.

Measuring the relative contributions of milk and non-milk foods in the diets of primate infants is difficult from observations. Stable carbon (δC) and nitrogen (δN) isotopes in hair can be used to physiologically track infant feeding through development, but few wild studies have done so, likely due to the difficulty in collecting hair non-invasively. We assessed infant feeding at different ages in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at Ngogo, Uganda using δC and δN of keratin in 164 naturally shed hairs from 29 infants (61 hairs), 6 juveniles (7 hairs), 28 mothers (67 hairs) and 14 adult males (29 hairs).

Human milk immune factors, maternal nutritional status, and infant sex: The INSPIRE study.

Objectives: Breastfeeding is an energetically costly and intense form of human parental investment, providing sole-source nutrition in early infancy and bioactive components, including immune factors. Given the energetic cost of lactation, milk factors may be subject to tradeoffs, and variation in concentrations have been explored utilizing the Trivers-Willard hypothesis. As human milk immune factors are critical to developing immune system and protect infants against pathogens, we tested whether concentrations of milk immune factors (IgA, IgM, IgG, EGF, TGFβ2, and IL-10) vary in response to infant sex and maternal condition (proxied by maternal diet diversity [DD] and body mass index [BMI]) as posited in the Trivers-Willard hypothesis and consider the application of the hypothesis to milk composition.

Household food insecurity is prevalent in a cohort of postpartum women who registered in the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program in Toronto.

Objective: To assess the prevalence, severity and socio-demographic predictors of household food insecurity among vulnerable women accessing the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) and to examine associations between household food insecurity and breastfeeding practices to 6 months.

Design: Cohort investigation pooling data from two studies which administered the 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module at 6 months postpartum and collected prospective infant feeding data at 2 weeks and 2, 4 and 6 months. Household food insecurity was classified as none, marginal, moderate or severe.

Effects of infant age and sex, and maternal parity on the interaction of lactation with infant feeding development in chimpanzees.

The interaction between infant feeding and maternal lactational physiology influences female inter-birth intervals and mediates maternal reproductive trade-offs. We investigated variation in feeding development in 72 immature wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) at Ngogo, Kibale National Park, Uganda, and made inferences about maternal lactation over the course of infancy. We compared the percentage (%) of time that mothers nursed infants as a function of infant age and assessed how hourly rates and bout durations of nursing and foraging varied in association with differences in offspring age, sex, and maternal parity.

Associations between use of expressed human milk at 2 weeks postpartum and human milk feeding practices to 6 months: a prospective cohort study with vulnerable women in Toronto, Canada.

Objectives: To examine whether use of expressed human milk in the first two weeks postpartum is associated with cessation of human milk feeding and non-exclusive human milk feeding up to 6 months.

Design: Pooled data from two prospective cohort studies SETTING: Three Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) sites serving vulnerable families in Toronto, Canada.

Participants: 337 registered CPNP clients enrolled prenatally from 2017 to 2020; 315 (93%) were retained to 6 months postpartum.

Characteristics of vulnerable women and their association with participation in a Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program site in Toronto, Canada.

Introduction: The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) supports community organizations to provide maternal-infant health services for socially/economically vulnerable women. As part of our research program exploring opportunities to provide postnatal breastfeeding support through the CPNP, we investigated the sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics of clients enrolled in a Toronto CPNP site and explored associations with participation.

Methods: Data were collected retrospectively from the charts of 339 women registered in one southwest Toronto CPNP site from 2013 to 2016.

Dietary diversity and social determinants of nutrition among late adolescent girls in rural Pakistan.

The conditions in which adolescent girls mature shape their health, development and nutrition. Nutrient requirements increase to support growth during adolescence, but gaps between consumption and requirements exist in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to identify and quantify the relationship between dietary intake and diverse social determinants of nutrition (SDN) among a subset of adolescent girls 15-18.

High levels of breastmilk feeding despite a low rate of exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months in a cohort of vulnerable women in Toronto, Canada.

Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for 6 months is a global public health goal, but measuring its achievement as a marker of population breastmilk feeding practices is insufficient. Additional measures are needed to understand variation in non-EBF practices and inform intervention priorities. We collected infant feeding data prospectively at seven time points to 6 months post-partum from a cohort of vulnerable women (n = 151) registered at two Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program sites in Toronto, Canada.

Effect on breastfeeding practices of providing in-home lactation support to vulnerable women through the Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program: protocol for a pre/post intervention study.

Background: Only one-third of Canadian infants are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life as recommended. Skilled lactation support in the early postpartum period is one strategy for improving breastfeeding outcomes by building breastfeeding self-efficacy and resolving difficulties. Access to such support is limited among vulnerable women, including those who are new immigrants, low income, under-educated, young or single.

Variation in Human Milk Composition Is Related to Differences in Milk and Infant Fecal Microbial Communities.

Previously published data from our group and others demonstrate that human milk oligosaccharide (HMOs), as well as milk and infant fecal microbial profiles, vary by geography. However, little is known about the geographical variation of other milk-borne factors, such as lactose and protein, as well as the associations among these factors and microbial community structures in milk and infant feces. Here, we characterized and contrasted concentrations of milk-borne lactose, protein, and HMOs, and examined their associations with milk and infant fecal microbiomes in samples collected in 11 geographically diverse sites.

Gaps and priorities in assessment of food environments for children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries.

School-aged children and adolescents have complex interactions with their food environments-the point of engagement of individuals with the food system-and are influenced by a diversity of individual, household and organizational factors. Although a wide range of methods have been proposed to define, monitor and evaluate food environments, few are tailored to school-aged children and adolescents. Here, we interrogate published literature on food metrics and methodologies for the characterization of food environments for school-aged children and adolescents living in low- and middle-income counties.

Comparison of Two Approaches for the Metataxonomic Analysis of the Human Milk Microbiome.

Unlabelled: Recent work has demonstrated the existence of large inter-individual and inter-population variability in the microbiota of human milk from healthy women living across variable geographical and socio-cultural settings. However, no studies have evaluated the impact that variable sequencing approaches targeting different 16S rRNA variable regions may have on the human milk microbiota profiling results. This hampers our ability to make meaningful comparisons across studies.

Key genetic variants associated with variation of milk oligosaccharides from diverse human populations.

Human milk oligosaccharides (HMO), the third most abundant component of human milk, are thought to be important contributors to infant health. Studies have provided evidence that geography, stage of lactation, and Lewis and secretor blood groups are associated with HMO profile. However, little is known about how variation across the genome may influence HMO composition among women in various populations.

Breastfeeding rates are high in a prenatal community support program targeting vulnerable women and offering enhanced postnatal lactation support: a prospective cohort study.

Background: In Canada, 91% of all mothers initiate breastfeeding, but 40-50% stop by 6 months and only 34% breastfeed exclusively for 6 months, with lower rates among socially and/or economically vulnerable women. The Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP) aims to support breastfeeding among vulnerable women, but there is no formal framework or funding for sites to integrate proactive postnatal breastfeeding support. This research aimed to i) describe infant feeding practices among clients of one Toronto CPNP site using charitable funds to offer a lactation support program (in-home lactation consultant visits, breast pumps); ii) determine whether breastfeeding outcomes at 6 months differ based on maternal sociodemographics and food insecurity; and iii) assess utilization of the lactation support program.

Multipathogen Analysis of IgA and IgG Antigen Specificity for Selected Pathogens in Milk Produced by Women From Diverse Geographical Regions: The INSPIRE Study.

Breastfeeding provides defense against infectious disease during early life. The mechanisms underlying this protection are complex but likely include the vast array of immune cells and components, such as immunoglobulins, in milk. Simply characterizing the concentrations of these bioactives, however, provides only limited information regarding their potential relationships with disease risk in the recipient infant.

Premasticated food transfer by wild chimpanzee mothers with their infants: Effects of maternal parity, infant age and sex, and food properties.

Premasticated food transfer, when an individual partially breaks down food through chewing and feeds it to another individual, usually mouth-to-mouth, is described widely across human cultures. This behavior plays an important role in modern humans' strategy of complementary feeding, which involves supplementing maternal milk in infant diets with processed, easily digestible versions of adult foods. The extent to which other primates engage in premasticated food transfer with infants is unclear, as premasticated food transfers have been only occasionally reported in other ape species.

Corrigendum: What's Normal? Microbiomes in Human Milk and Infant Feces Are Related to Each Other but Vary Geographically: The INSPIRE Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2019.

The Lived Experience of Global Public Health Practice: A Phenomenological Account of Women Graduate Students.

There is a dearth of research that aims to understand graduate students' lived experience of global health practice. Difficulties, distress, and trauma occur before and after these students' placement abroad, and they often increase when returning home. Moreover, few articles address the increased vulnerabilities faced by women, such as sexual violence and gender-based discrimination.

What's Normal? Microbiomes in Human Milk and Infant Feces Are Related to Each Other but Vary Geographically: The INSPIRE Study.

Microbial communities in human milk and those in feces from breastfed infants vary within and across populations. However, few researchers have conducted cross-cultural comparisons between populations, and little is known about whether certain "core" taxa occur normally within or between populations and whether variation in milk microbiome is related to variation in infant fecal microbiome. The purpose of this study was to describe microbiomes of milk produced by relatively healthy women living at diverse international sites and compare these to the fecal microbiomes of their relatively healthy infants.

Household composition and the infant fecal microbiome: The INSPIRE study.

Objectives: Establishment and development of the infant gastrointestinal microbiome (GIM) varies cross-culturally and is thought to be influenced by factors such as gestational age, birth mode, diet, and antibiotic exposure. However, there is little data as to how the composition of infants' households may play a role, particularly from a cross-cultural perspective. Here, we examined relationships between infant fecal microbiome (IFM) diversity/composition and infants' household size, number of siblings, and number of other household members.

Keeping secrets in the cloud: Mobile phones, data security and privacy within the context of pregnancy and childbirth in Tanzania.

Growing evidence points to the potential value of mobile phone-based technologies ('mHealth') to help strengthen community health systems in low- and middle-income countries, but mHealth approaches also carry considerable risks with respect to data security, individual privacy, and confidentiality. We examined the perspectives of frontline community health workers and their female clients regarding data security and privacy within the context of an mHealth intervention to improve women's uptake of maternal health services from October 2013 to July 2014 in rural Tanzania. Qualitative findings demonstrate that the use of new technologies to capture health service user data during pregnancy and childbirth has both positive and negative impacts on perceptions of personal privacy and confidentiality.

What's Normal? Immune Profiling of Human Milk from Healthy Women Living in Different Geographical and Socioeconomic Settings.

Human milk provides a very wide range of nutrients and bioactive components, including immune factors, human milk oligosaccharides, and a commensal microbiota. These factors are essential for interconnected processes including immunity programming and the development of a normal infant gastrointestinal microbiome. Newborn immune protection mostly relies on maternal immune factors provided through milk.