We intend to create a 1,000 women pregnancy cohort over 5 years in which women are followed throughout their pregnancies and their infants are followed annually after delivery. The data collected from this cohort will assist researchers investigating predictors of childhood asthma, autism and obesity.
We will examine a broad range of factors including maternal health status, family history, neighborhood, pregnancy complications, and feeding and exercise patterns with a particular focus on how they are associated with childhood asthma, obesity and neurologic development.
Specimens will be collected during pregnancy and at delivery. The specimens will be available for future multi-disciplinary research aimed at examining toxins, immunologic factors, and metabolic determinants of childhood disease.