Targeting Maternal Diet in the First 1,000 Days to Impact Outcomes
Miami Neonatology 2022—46th Annual International Conference

Professor and neonatologist, Christina J. Valentine, MD, MS, RD, reviews the latest evidence demonstrating the perinatal benefits of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) during the first 1,000 days beginning at conception. Dr. Valentine emphasizes the significance of DHA and its benefits in terms of risk of preterm birth and early preterm, as well as birth weight. Dr. Valentine also emphasizes the need to review mothers’ prenatal and postnatal diet, while highlighting sources and appropriate dosing of supplemental DHA for optimal breast milk composition.

• Profile

  Christina J. Valentine, MD, MS, RD

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  As a neonatologist, a scientist, and a registered dietitian, Christina J. Valentine, MD, MS, RD, brings a unique, multidisciplinary perspective to infant nutrition. Her clinical responsibilities include the care of high-risk infants; her academic role involves curriculum development and teaching medical students, residents, and nurses; and her research projects address the impact of nutrition on infants in order to assist in the development of products to optimize outcomes.

  Dr. Valentine is professor and medical director of perinatal nutrition at Banner University Medical Center of the University of Arizona in Tucson. She is also chief medical officer for Reckitt/Mead Johnson Nutrition. She received her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where she completed her pediatric internship and residency, followed by a neonatology fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

  Dr. Valentine’s research encompasses the development of formula that incorporates the nutritional components found in human milk for the benefit of infants for whom human milk is not an option. This involves studying human milk to identify components that, when added to formula, will mimic mother’s milk as closely as possible. For example, at one time it was thought that a defatted formula was a healthier alternative for babies. However, research highlighted the importance of the milk fat globule membrane that occurs naturally in human milk. The research showed that infants who were fed formula containing milk fat from 2 to 6 months of age demonstrated greater cognitive development compared to babies given a formula without supplementation.

  Other research, conducted by Dr. Valentine and others, was designed to evaluate lactoferrin, a major protein in mother’s milk, that is found in much lower quantities in cow’s milk. Since breastfed infants have a lower risk of infections than formula-fed infants, the hypothesis is that the presence of lactoferrin and its anti-infective and anti-inflammatory properties may be one of the reasons.

  Dr. Valentine is a fellow and a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition and a member of several other professional organizations including the International Society for Interdisciplinary Research in Human Milk and Lactation. She has given numerous presentations, is the author or coauthor of more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, and is a reviewer for a number of prestigious medical journals including the Journal of Pediatrics, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and the Journal of Perinatology.

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  Christina J. Valentine, MD, MS, RD

  Professor/Neonatologist
  Department of Pediatrics
  Division of Neonatology
  Banner University Medical Center
  The University of Arizona
  Tucson, Arizona