Are you pregnant and 18 years of age or older?

If so, you are invited to participate in an exciting national research study that is currently recruiting 5,000pregnant women from across Canada. The Manitoba Institute of Child Health is one of four centres in Canada that is participating in this study and the team in Winnipeg is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Allan Becker.

The CHILD (Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development) Study aims to examine which factors in the environment may affect your child's health and development. Over the last 20 years there has been a dramatic increase of allergic diseases such as food or other allergies, eczema, hay fever, and asthma. Changes in the environment of expectant mothers and their children may be one reason for this increase. Lifestyle, indoor and outdoor air quality, diet, stress, family history and changes in genetic expression may all contribute to the increase in these childhood diseases.

Mothers planning to give birth in Winnipeg are invited to join the study.

What is involved in participating?

The CHILD Study is a longitudinal study that will follow children from before birth to 5 years of age to see how they grow and learn over time. For parents, we will ask you a series of questions about your health and family history. A blood test will let us see what genetic factors are common to you and your baby. A breathing test will measure how well your lungs work and a skin test will see if you have any allergies. We would like to learn about your home environment to understand what you are exposed to in your surroundings. For baby, we will record the delivery details and request a cord blood sample (which is normally discarded) for genetic and immune testing. We will see your baby at three months in your home and then in the clinic when your baby is age one, three, and five. We will assess your child's growth and the development of allergies and asthma.

This is a great opportunity for you and your child to participate in pioneering research that will advance our understanding of children's health and development. By increasing understanding of our environment in all its complexity, we can help build a healthier and safer environment for future families, and increase the quality of life for all children in Canada.

For more information and to see if you qualify for the study, please contact: Rishma at 789‐3978 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Attachments:

File	Description	File size
CHILD Study.pdf		105 Kb