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Research
Maternal dietary intake in pregnancy and lactation and allergic disease outcomes in offspringAs the prevalence of allergic disease dramatically rises worldwide, prevention strategies are increasingly being considered.
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Early life nutrition and the opportunity to influence long-term health: an Australasian perspectiveThere is significant data to support the hypothesis that early life nutrition in the fetus, infant and young child can have profound effects on long-term health
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Fish oil supplementation in early infancy modulates developing infant immune responsesMaternal fish oil supplementation during pregnancy has been associated with altered infant immune responses and a reduced risk of infant sensitization and...
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Comparison of neonatal T regulatory cell function in Papua New Guinean and Australian newbornsWe compared neonatal T reg from children born in western conditions (Australia) with those of neonates born in high microbial conditions (Papua New Guinea)...

The vision of the Nutrition in Early Life team is to work together with the community to produce quality research, for improving our knowledge of how a mother’s diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding can improve both her and her child’s health.
Research
The PrEggNut Study – Maternal diet rich in eggs and peanuts to reduce food allergies: a randomised controlled trialDebbie Susan Palmer Prescott BSc BND PhD MBBS BMedSci PhD FRACP Head, Nutrition in Early Life Honorary Research Fellow debbie.palmer@uwa.edu.au
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Changes to the Gut Microbiome in Young Children Showing Early Behavioral Signs of AutismThe human gut microbiome has increasingly been associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is a neurological developmental disorder, characterized by impairments to social interaction.
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Pre-and Postnatal Vitamin D Status and Allergy Outcomes in Early ChildhoodThe dramatic increase in the prevalence of allergic disease in recent decades reflects environmental and behavioural changes that have altered patterns of early immune development. The very early onset of allergic diseases points to the specific vulnerability of the developing immune system to environmental changes and the development of primary intervention strategies is crucial to address this unparalleled burden.
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Longitudinal egg-specific regulatory T- and B-cell development: Insights from primary prevention clinical trials examining the timing of egg introductionEgg allergy affects almost 1 in 10 Australian infants. Early egg introduction has been associated with a reduced risk in developing egg allergy; however, the immune mechanisms underlying this protection remain unclear.
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Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of folic acid supplementation beyond the first trimester on maternal plasma unmetabolised folic acid in late gestationTaking folic acid containing supplements prior to and during early pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects. Neural tube defects occur prior to 28 days postconception, after which, there is no proven benefit of continuing to take folic acid. However, many women continue to take folic acid containing supplements throughout the pregnancy.