Webinar: “Great Expectations: The Importance of Optimal Maternal Metabolic Health During Gestation”

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Weds., Nov. 15, 2017 | 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. CT / 12:30 p.m.–2 p.m. ET 

Speakers

Donna Ryan, MD – Professor Emerita and interim Executive Director, Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Leanne Redman, PhD – Associate Professor and Director of the Reproductive Endocrinology Lab at Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Join the the Tulane Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health, the Tulane Prevention Research Center, and the American Public Health Association for a webinar and interactive discussion.

Registration: Click here

Please register in advance. Seating is limited for the live webinar (powered by ReadyTalk). A recording will be available online after the event on the Tulane CEMCH blog, the Tulane PRC website, and the APHA webinars page.

About the Webinar:

The association of excess weight gain and obesity on adverse outcomes for both mother and child are well known. Obesity is associated with higher rates of gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, non-elective c-sections, and maternal and fetal mortality. The association of gestational diabetes with fetal macrosomia is well known. Infant complications during delivery are also impacted. The maternal metabolic environment can be a contributor for risk in offspring for obesity and diabetes in childhood and even in adulthood. Attempts have been made to limit weight gain during pregnancy with strong evidence-based recommendations sponsored by the Institute of Medicine, but only 30% of women achieve optimal levels of weight change during pregnancy. Pregnancy represents an opportune time for weight management; prenatal visits are opportunities for review of weight and implementation of behavior change. This webinar will review several recent studies of intervention during pregnancy, their efficacy and safety outcomes. Future directions for this research focus will also be discussed. The challenge of effective weight management during this critical developmental period is one that must be met because it offers the potential to affect the metabolic health of future generations. Existing national programs such as Women Infants and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program offer unprecedented opportunity to improve health of mothers, their offspring and future generations.

Attendees will learn to:

  1. Discuss the prevalence of obesity and of excessive weight gain during pregnancy and their impact on maternal (gestational diabetes, caesarean rates, maternal complications) and child health (infant size at birth, obesity and diabetes in childhood and adulthood);
  2. Describe the current recommendations for optimal weight gain during pregnancy;
  3. Discuss the evidence for safety and efficacy of weight-directed interventions to prevent excess weight gain during pregnancy.

About the Presenters: 
 Picture2Donna H. Ryan, MD, is a world-renowned obesity researcher and Professor Emerita at LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, where she is currently serving as interim Executive Director. From 1988-2012 she served as an associate professor, professor and as then associate executive director for clinical research at Pennington Biomedical. She is president-elect of the World Obesity Federation and associate editor in chief of the scientific journals Obesity Research and Obesity. Dr. Ryan is a recognized consultant and advisor on the topic of obesity and chronic disease and was instrumental in a number of landmark nutrition, diabetes, weight loss and military health research studies. She has been an author on more than 225 original publications, 11 books, and nearly 50 scholarly chapters and reviews.

 

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Leanne M. Redman, PhD, is a clinical scientist with a particular focus on the physiology of body weight regulation in humans. The genesis of her research is in the design and conduct of controlled clinical studies where diet and/or physical activity are manipulated to alter energy balance. An Australian native, Dr. Redman has spent the past 12 years at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, where she is an Associate Professor and directs a research program in Reproductive Endocrinology and Maternal/Infant Health. She is the Principal Investigator of three NIH grants all of which involve comprehensive phenotyping of women including studies in polycystic ovary syndrome, pregnancy and postnatal health. These include e-health interventions to achieve healthy gestational weight gain invented by Dr. Redman and her colleagues. Dr. Redman has published more than 100 research papers around obesity, energy metabolism, insulin sensitivity, calorie restriction and exercise.

To register for this webinar: Click here  

The Tulane Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number T76MC04927 and title Maternal and Child Health Public Health Training Program. The information or content and conclusions in this webinar are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

 

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