Children Growing Up in Liverpool - Longitudinal Birth Cohort and CityLab Linked Data

C-GULL is an exciting new research study focused on improving the health and wellbeing of children and their families in the Liverpool City Region. The C-GULL study will collect information, including samples and data, from 10,000 children and their families, starting in pregnancy and continuing throughout life, linking data from different sources and using it to track the health and development of a person throughout their life, in order to better understand the factors that can improve the lives and health outcomes of children and their families in the Liverpool City Region. 

All pregnant people aged 16 years and older who are pregnant with their first child and have chosen for their care to be at Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust are eligible to take part in this study. Their partners (if applicable) will also be asked if they would like to take par

This study aims to try to find genetic conditions early in affected babies, and to learn more about genes and health. To do this, we will ask to take a blood sample at birth from cord blood or a heel prick from the newborn baby. This sample will be analysed for many genetic conditions (around 200 conditions), and you will be informed if any condition is found. This test is in addition to the newborn blood spot screening currently offered on the NHS. 

Collection and storage of tissue from gynaecological surgery (hysterectomy)

The Research Tissue Bank collects and stores tissue taken at surgery for research. By doing this the research tissue bank is able to build up a valuable collection that will be used by research groups investigating complications of the female reproductive system. It is hoped that the resulting knowledge will help other women in the future.

TTTS Registry - Multiple Pregnancy Registry

The purpose of this registry is to address the gaps in knowledge in order to inform us what is the best treatment to offer in multiple pregnancies that develop complications, and what is the best way to monitor for the development of these complications. This should ultimately improve the care we provide to these women and babies. Furthermore, the registry will help us to ensure that all units caring for women with multiple pregnancies in the UK are providing consistent, evidence-based care. The registry will also provide a platform to allow long-term follow-up of these children at a national level.

C-STICH2: Emergency Cervical Cerclage to Prevent Miscarriage and Preterm Birth: a Randomised Controlled Trial

A cervical cerclage is the placement of a stitch to keep the neck of the womb closed. A stitch can be placed in a planned way because of a risk of preterm birth based on a woman’s pregnancy history or because the neck of the womb is shorter than normal on an ultrasound scan but still closed. Sometimes the neck of the womb can start to open and expose the bag of water around the baby. If this happens between 16 and 28 weeks of pregnancy, an emergency stitch is sometimes inserted to try to delay delivery. Prolonging the pregnancy so that the baby can be born when they are bigger and stronger may give them a better chance of surviving and suffering from fewer complications of prematurity. However, doctors do not know if an emergency cerclage works. There is some evidence it may prolong pregnancy but it is possible that it will also speed up delivery by causing infection or damage to the neck of the mother’s womb

This study will ask women who have an open neck of the womb with the bag of waters around the baby coming through, to have either an emergency stitch or no emergency stitch. Which treatment they will receive will be decided by a process that randomly allocates a woman to one group or the other.

Carboprost vs Oxytocin as the First Line Treatment of Primary Postpartum Haemorrhage. A phase IV, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised controlled trial

Excessive bleeding after childbirth (also known as postpartum haemorrhage or PPH) is a common problem which affects 1 in 20 women

COPE is a research study to compare two drugs currently used to treat PPH, to decide which is better. The two drugs are carboprost and oxytocin.

Perinatal and 2 year neurodevelopmental outcome in late preterm fetal compromise: the TRUFFLE 2 Randomised Trial

Currently, doctors don’t have good information to help them decide about the best time to deliver a baby between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy. At the moment many different approaches are being used. This study aims to find answers about the safest time to deliver the baby.

Pregnancy Antihypertensive Drugs - Which Agent is Best?

This study aims to find out which blood pressure medication is best at treating high blood pressure in pregnancy, as untreated high blood pressure can cause serious complications for the mother and the baby. We want to find out which of the two most commonly used medicines to treat this (labetalol and nifedipine) is the best at treating high blood pressure without having troublesome side effects. 

Intervention or Expectant Management for Early Onset Selective Foetal Growth Restriction in Monochorionic Twin Pregnancy

This study aims to investigate the feasibility of a study comparing which is the best way to manage monochorionic twin pregnancies complicated by selective foetal growth restriction, comparing active intervention with expectant management. 

Planning mode of birth in routine antenatal care: development of a decision aid (Plan-A)

This study aims to develop a decision aid to support pregnant women to choose between planning vaginal or caesarean birth during routine antenatal care. Childbirth often involves unexpected, sometimes unwanted, medical input, while some women wish they had received assistance to give birth but were not offered it. Both issues can lead to health problems. Decision aids are tools that provide a framework for balanced consideration of care options to support choice and reduce regret. No decision aid exists for routine planning of how to give birth. 

If you or your partner are currently pregnant, or if you have given birth within the past 10 years, we would like to hear what information you feel is important to consider when planning how to give birth, your individual experiences of planning the birth, and how care can be improved to ensure that an informed decision can be made. 

If you are interested in taking part, please contact plana@abdn.ac.uk, or call 01224438425 between 9-5 Mon-Fri. 

Calcium Supplementation for Prevention of Pre-eclampsia in High Risk Women: CaPE Trial

Pre-eclampsia affects one in 30 pregnancies in the UK, and usually presents with high blood pressure and protein in the urine. Complications of pre-eclampsia can make women very unwell and the baby may also have reduced growth, be born too early or even die. Currently, aspirin is used to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia but it only has modest benefits. Calcium may be beneficial for preventing pre-eclampsia but most previous studies have been conducted in populations with low dietary calcium intake, so findings have not been viewed as applicable to a population with adequate calcium intake, such as in the UK. 

 CaPE is a randomised, blinded, placebo controlled multicentre trial to assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness of oral calcium supplementation of 2 grams per day taken from 12 to 22 weeks’ gestation until delivery plus usual care (including aspirin) compared with usual care alone in reducing the risk of pre-eclampsia and its complications in women at high risk of developing pre-eclampsia.

If you are interested in taking part, please contact the Research Midwives on 0151 702 4355, or at research.midwives@lwh.nhs.uk

Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) to identify the genetic determinants of Spontaneous Pre-Term Birth: A nationwide multicentre cohort study

 

If you have had a spontaneous preterm birth (if your baby was unexpectedly born early), you may be eligible for the PRESTIGE study. This study involves taking one small blood sample and pregnancy information to investigate if there are specific genetic factors related to preterm birth.

If you are interested in taking part in the study, please contact the research team at research.midwives@lwh.nhs.uk, or on 0151 702 4355