Wednesday, May 9, 2007
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario

Supplementation of wheat products with folic acid back in 1998 was hailed as a major achievement in the prevention of birth defects such as spina bifida. Nonetheless, in 2006 Motherisk research uncovered disturbing evidence that each year, an estimated 200,000 pregnant Canadian women are not optimally protected against neural tube defects. This year's Motherisk Update takes a hard look at what we know (and thought we knew) about maternal health and the prevention of birth defects.

Andre Boivin Professorship Lecture & Paediatric Grand Rounds
Saving Lives and Changing Family Histories: The consequences of utilizing appropriate and inappropriate information when counseling families about developmental risks.
Dr. Robert L. Brent, MD, PhD.
Head, Clinical and Environmental Teratology Research Lab
A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware
Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Radiology and Pathology,
Thomas Jefferson University.

Folic Acid Deficiency and Neural Tube Defects - The view from the operating room
Dr. R. Douglas Wilson, MS, MSc, FRCSC
Pediatric Surgery,
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Department of Surgery Obstetrics and Gynecology,
University of Pennsylvania

Factors that Affect Folate Status of Women
Dr. Deborah L. O'Connor, MSC, PhD
Director, Clinical Dietetics,
The Hospital for Sick Children

Afternoon Session:

Improving Iron Status Before Pregnancy
Amina Khambalia, PhD candidate
Department of Nutritional Sciences,
Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

Protective Effect of Prenatal Vitamins Against Major Malformations and Infantile Cancers
Ingrid Goh, HBSc
Motherisk Program,
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

Excessive Weight Gain in Pregnancy - A predictor of long-term maternal health
Dr. Lourdes Eco-Jea, MD
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Motherisk Program,
The Hospital for Sick Children

Maternal Dietary Deficiencies - Effects on milk and baby
Dr. Shinya Ito, MD, ABCP
Professor and Head,
Division of Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology,
The Hospital for Sick Children

Probiotics in Pregnancy and Lactation
Jean-Jacques Dugoua ND HBSc. MSc (cand.)
The Al & Malka Green Artists' Health Centre,
Toronto Western Hospital

Recommendations for Vitamin Supplementation during Pregnancy and Lactation
Dr. Gideon Koren, MD, FRCPC
Director, Motherisk Program,
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

Click here to download brochure and registration form.