If you are planning or currently breastfeeding your baby you may be able to help us identify whether babies born in Adelaide may need vitamin D supplements at birth.

Vitamin D is made in the skin when exposed to sun. However, the Cancer Council of Australia discourages exposing babies to sunlight as this increases the risk of skin cancer. In the winter, the sun in South Australia is not strong enough to make a lot of vitamin D. Therefore, there is a need to find out what the level of vitamin D is in South Australian babies and whether they need supplementation. Health experts in parts of Europe and North America recommend that all breastfed babies be given vitamin D supplements. However, in Australia, we have no similar recommendations. We hope to provide information to help make recommendations as to whether young babies in South Australia need early supplementation.

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Infantile beriberi, a fatal disease caused by thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency, remains a public health concern in Cambodia and regions where B-vitamin poor, polished white rice is a staple food. Low maternal thiamin intake limits breast milk thiamin content, putting breastfed infants at risk of beriberi. In this study we fortified fish sauce, a popular Cambodian condiment, to increase maternal dietary thiamin intake.

Anemia, defined by a low hemoglobin level, affects half of women in Cambodia. Hemoglobin is important as it helps to transfer oxygen in the blood throughout the body. Without enough hemoglobin women feel tired and it may hurt their baby when pregnant. Anemia is caused by poor nutrition, blood gene problems, as well as infections. In Cambodia, iron deficiency is assumed to be the cause of anemia due to low-iron diets. However, it is difficult to assess iron deficiency in populations that have high rates of blood gene problems and infection. The blood markers that are usually used to measure iron deficiency are increased in people with these blood gene problems and infection. Therefore, it is difficult to determine if women in Cambodia really have iron deficiency. This is important in terms of planning nutrition programs that will help with anemia. In this study we supplemented women with iron and measured hemoglobin to assess whether anaemia was caused by iron deficiency.

The MAGENTA trial is assessing whether antenatal magnesium sulphate given to women at risk of preterm birth between 30 and 34 weeks' gestation reduces the risk of death or cerebral palsy in their children.

As a follow up to our N3RO Trial (N-3 fatty acids for improvement in Respiratory Outcomes), which showed that giving extra omega 3 fats to babies born <29 weeks has no effect on chronic lung disease and may indeed increase risk, we are investigating what the important longer-term effects at 5-years of age of extra DHA in the first months of life for babies born 3 to 4 months prematurely by assessing the children’s mental development.

A clinical trial led by Associate Professor Carmel Collins and funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council. For further information please contact Jacqueline.Gould@sahmri.com

Why are we interested in what babies eat?

Australian infant feeding guidelines for prevention of food allergy encourage common allergens (egg, peanut paste and wheat) to be included in babies’ diets in their first year.

We would like to know how often one year old children are eating common food allergens like egg, peanut and wheat.