A/Prof Rachel Laws
Rachel is an Associate Professor of Public Health Nutrition at the Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Deakin University. Her research focuses on nutition in first 2000 days of life.
Location Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Activity
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
My key takeway is the holisitic nature of digital learning, from the need for creating a complete learning experience for students (service design element), the importance of alignment of learning outcomes and tasks as well as the need for the involvement of a multi-disciplinary team to bring together an online course in an integrated holistic way.
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A/Prof Rachel Laws replied to Sze Yen Tan
Yes I agree with you Yen. One of the challenges is knowing what evereybody does and what the possibilities are. I am currently working as a lecturer here at Deakin but also working on a couple of Future Learn MOOCs. I am new to this and not always totally across the various roles and possibilities in this exciting and new field
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
Having started teaching at Deakin in 2018, most of my students are cloud campus students. From a teaching perspective, I have found that creating opportunities for interaction and discussion between students really important in creating a sense of belonging as well as making a connection between the students and myself 'having an educator presence'. I...
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
I have also chosen the principle 'Ability to see connections between fields, ideas and concepts is a core skill'. Online sharing of ideas I think facilitates learners to see or make connections that they may not have made on their own. It enables people to observe the diversity in views, how others views are similar or different from their own and some of the...
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
I think the social learning features are useful and brings 'online learning to life'. One thing which I find a bit challenging in large courses is the number of comments and conversations which can be a bit overwhelming both as a participant and a facilitator. I wonder if there is a theshold number of interactions before people get overwhelmed. I did get some...
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
Interesting reading the comments below which suggest that different people learn in different ways of course. I have recently started listening to alot of audiobooks and podcasts (for both pleasure and professional development) while commuting and I do find it a nice change of pace to listen and reflect. I have also incorporated a lot more podcasts into my...
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
I am doing the Grad Cert in Higher Educ as part of my role as a teaching academic here at Deakin. This is my 3rd unit, with the other 2 units being delivered via CloudDeakin. I think the FutureLearn platform is definately more user friendly and engaging and encourages greater interaction between learners which is always a challenge in the digital space. I...
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
I agree that digital learning opens up opportunities for both formal and informal learning opportunities. I teach into Postgrad nutrition courses here at Deakin and the cloud option has really made these courses much more accessible to a wider audience of learners who previously may have been unable to attend university. The vast majority of our cloud students...
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
Like others I see myself as a mix of different learning archetypes. I guess I am doing this course as an 'advancer' it is a requirement of my employment to do a Grad Cert in higher education and it also relates to my research in designing digital health interventions for parents. Personally I do choose to learn new things to 'fix' certain concerns e.g my son...
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Hi Kathryn, great questions!
Breast and bottle feed babies should both be introduced to a cup at around 6 months (containing just water for breastfeed babies) and if breastfeed babies are having bottles of expressed breastmilk then these should be phased out by 12 months with increasing use of a sippy cup.
Bottle feeding parents can also use skin to skin...
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It is recommended you introduce a cup at 6 months alongside bottle feeding to get your baby use to drinking formula/water from a cup with the aim of phasing out bottles by 12 months. Prolonged use of bottles into the toddler years is linked to problems with speech development, iron deficiency (due to too much milk and not enough solid foods high in iron),...
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Great question. 'On demand' means when the baby shows signs of hunger. Hunger signs include being awake and alert, mouth opening, sucking fingers/fists, turning towards the breast, with crying being a late sign of hunger. This link has some useful videos of what hungry signs look like in real...
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Yes all formulas should provide information on protein content. In Australia (may be different in other countries) formulas are required to have protein content in the range of 1.3-2 g per 100 ml, so choose formulas at the lower end of this range.
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Hi Jenni. Yes the advice about feeding 'on demand' does apply to breastfeed babies and as precious as our expressed breastmilk is - we should not encourage babies to finish the bottle if they are showing signs of being full (i.e turning away etc).
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
Here is a link to an article we published today "if you're feeding with formula here's what you can do to promote your babys healthy growth" which might be of interest.
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Hi Erika, for healthy full-term babies, there is little evidence to say that one formula is better than another. The only recommendation we can provide is around protein levels. You are quite right in suggesting lower protein formulas. Breastmilk contains about 1-1.1g of protein per 100ml. Infant formulas available in Australia have a protein content within...
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Hi Alison. Yes there is some studies to indicate that babies fed on demand with formula are less likely than those fed on a schedule to experience rapid weight gain which is a key risk factor for overweight and obesity in both childhood and adulthood. I am not sure this has been compared directly with weight trajectories in breastfeed babies but there is...
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Giving up the bottle from the age of 12 months is recommended for a number of health reasons including:
Ear infections- Giving your baby bottles in bed at night can let milk settle in their throat, which can then cause bacteria to move into their ears, increasing the chance of painful ear infections.
Tooth decay- If your baby is always sucking milk (not... -
Thanks for your question Marilyn. Giving up the bottle from the age of 12 months is recommended for a number of health reasons including:
Ear infections- Giving your baby bottles in bed at night can let milk settle in their throat, which can then cause bacteria to move into their ears, increasing the chance of painful ear infections.
Tooth decay- If your... -
Hungrier baby formulas generally contain more casein, with a casein:whey ratio of 80:20 (compared to 40:60 for first stage formula or breastmilk). They can also be higher in total protein but this various from brand to brand, so good to check. Manufacturers claim that the higher casein content means the milk takes longer to digest, keeping your baby fuller for...
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Hi Leonie - the reason for phasing out the bottles is that prolonged bottle use into the toddler years has been linked to a number of health problems including tooth decay and ear infections (particular if given lying down), iron deficiency (if replacing iron rich solid foods), overweight as well as facial muscle and speech problems down the track. That's why...
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Yes absolutely you can mix feed! Just be aware that offering formula instead of breastmilk can affect your milk supply.
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Prolonged bottle use is also linked to iron deficiency if it replaces iron rich foods, overweight, ear infections (particularly if given when lying down in bed) and can also affect speech development if given for too long. It is also easier to phase out bottles when baby is younger (around 12 months) than in the toddlers years where babies can become very...
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Hi Shevaun. Below is a step by step guide to phasing out bottles, let me know if this is useful? Great you are offering daily practice with a cup, it can take some babies quite a lot of time to get the hang of it. Given the issues with lip and tongue tie you might want to think about consulting a speech pathologist if problems adjusting to the cup persist. ...
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Hi Jane
There are a number of health problems associated with prolonged bottle use into toddlerhood and the preschool years including ear infections, tooth decay and overweight/obesity. Babies who continue using bottles after 12 months of age tend to do so more for habit or calming reasons but this means they also tend to drink more milk than they actually...
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Yes, great if your breastfeeding to introduce your baby to small tastes of water via a sippy cup from 6 months of age.
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HI Jessica
There are a number of health problems associated with prolonged bottle use into toddlerhood and the preschool years including ear infections, tooth decay and overweight/obesity. Babies who continue using bottles after 12 months of age tend to do so more for habit or calming reasons but this means they also tend to drink more milk than they...
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We are compiling some top tips for healthy growth for use within our new app. We wondered what you thought of these messages relevant to the content in this step:
Babies are learning to like: keep trying rejected foods!
Colour every meal and snack with fruit or vegetables
Parents provide babies decide
Baby see, baby do!
Only milk or water in my... -
A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
Hi everyone
We are compiling some top tips for healthy growth for use within our new app. We wondered what you thought of these messages:
If using formula, stick with stage 1 formulas to 12 months
Start a sippy cup at 6 months
Boot the bottle by 12 months
No bottle in my cotLet us know what you think?
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Hi everyone. We are compiling a list of top tips for parents to use in our new app. We wondered what you thought of our breastfeeding message:
Breastfeeding is a learning curve, we’re in it together!
This aims to convey that while natural, breastfeeding is something we need to learn and practice (both mum and baby). We're in it together suggests that...
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Hi Susan. Evidence does suggest that fresh breast milk is best and some nutrients such as antioxidants are reduced by storing in the fridge or freezing. This stored milk, however, even if frozen, is still superior in terms of nutritional quality to formula. More info on expressing and storing...
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Have you tried freezing expressed breastmilk to enable you to build up a supply?
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A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
Interested in the discussion of the 'fed is best' message. Is this something you hear in your country and what do you think?
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Hi Jasmin
Yes interesting to hear more of others views on the fed is best message. In response to your questions, I imagine these stories are very extreme cases with perhaps other underlying medical issues. As stated in step 1.8 it is rare for women not to have sufficient milk and as explained in the video signs of adequate milk supply include weight gain,...
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Just to clarify Shirley - the recommendation is to introduce a cup at 6 months with the aim of phasing out bottles completely by 12 months.
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Goats milk or goats milk based formula is not suitable
for babies under 1 year old. Like cow's milk, the composition of goat's milk is not suitable for an infant's kidneys or gastrointestinal tract. The amount of calcium and potassium for example are far too high for an infant to tolerate. -
A/Prof Rachel Laws made a comment
Fascinating discussion about all the cultural influences on infant feeding! Would be great if people can mention what country they are from when posting on cultural issues.
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You might like to go Raising Children website http://m.raisingchildren.net.au which has great info on sleep and settling for babies and toddlers. This is a reputable website developed by experts.
