As  moms we face so many issues when it comes to being the best parent we can be and we often rely on our natural mothering instinct to make the best decisions for our children. Occasionally we also have to solicit the advice of those with the knowledge that natural instinct doesn’t always cover - infant nutritional needs. This is where Gerber, partnered with Nestle Nutrition come in. Top nutritional expert for Gerber and Associate Professor of Pediatrics for Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Jose Saavedra is here to help us learn how to keep our children strong and healthy.

Here is your chance to get all the questions you’ve ever had about your baby’s nutritional needs from one of Gerber’s leading experts, Dr. Jose M. Saavedra. All you have to do is leave a question below or if you’d rather leave an anonymous question, feel free to email me cat [at] 3kidsandus [dot] com – I’ll be taking your questions from now until Monday, April 20th and they will be answered by Dr. Saavedra himself in an upcoming post.

To get the questions started, I will pose one of my own:

We’ve all heard the phrase, “breast is best” when it comes to pre-solids infant feeding. But mother’s such as myself often have the need to supplement with infant formula and feel the guilt of not offering our child what is known to be best. What can you tell me about the medical advances and nutritional make up of infant formulas available today that will reassure us that formula is meeting and/or exceeding the nutritional needs of infants?

Be sure to take a moment to read more about him and how his expertise is not only playing a major role in the nutritional health of your children, but future generations as well.

About Jose M. Saavedra M.D.

Dr. Jose (Pepe) Saavedra was born and raised in Peru. After finishing medical school, he became a fellow at the Nutrition Research Institute, in Lima, where he began research work on dietary management of diarrheal disease and malnutrition. A good part of this time was spent working as a primary physician, and studying digestive diseases in the Amazon. This part of his career solidified his desire to work in the area of pediatric nutrition.

He came to the United States to pursue his training in Pediatrics, at the State University of New York- Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York and after an additional year as Chief resident there, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland as a fellow in Gastroenterology and Nutrition at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where he has been on the faculty for the last 18 years. He created and developed the Johns Hopkins Children’s Nutrition Center, which he directed for ten years. Currently he holds joint appointments, as Associate Professor of Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has an extensive record of publications in the area of nutrition, clinical research and is reviewer of all the major nutrition and pediatric journals.

He was a consultant and research collaborator for Nestlé Nutrition and for many years during his academic tenure. In 2000 he joined Nestlé Nutrition as Medical and Scientific Director and created the Medical, Scientific and Regulatory affairs Unit, significantly expanding the capabilities and the efficiency for innovation in the North American Market. In addition, he brought greater visibility and credibility to the image of Nestlé Nutrition in the medical, nutritional and scientific communities. In 2004 he became Vice President for medical, scientific and regulatory affairs for Nestlé Nutrition in North America.

Dr. Saavedra’s seminal research at Johns Hopkins in the early 90”s received world wide attention, as was the first ever to document the benefits of regular ingestion of probiotics in infants. These initial studies were part of the work which ushered a new understanding of the benefits of functional ingredients in infant feeding, for disease prevention; and more than a decade later resulted in the launch of the first infant formula with probiotics in the United States.

Over the latter part of his career, his ideas and work in the area of intestinal microflora, disease prevention, and health maintenance through nutrition have led him along a path of activity and scientific interest which has exploded in significance and recognition; for which he is highly sought out as a speaker and educator, nationally and internationally. Health maintenance through nutrition of infants and children summarizes his passion. He continues to be clinically active, following his long term patients at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.