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Research Purpose

Shanghai Birth Cohort (SBC) is a prospective, observational cohort study. The research objective is to study how genetic,environmental and lifestyle factors affect fertility, pregnancy, child growth and development, and to study risk factors for childhood diseases. 

To investigate how maternal genetic factors , environmental factors and life habits alone or in combination affect a woman's reproductive ability, infertility, abortion, premature birth, fetal growth restriction, congenital malformation and stillbirth. 

To investigate how maternal and child genetic , environmental and behaviour factors alone or in combination affect the development of the children's growth and the nervous system, and to investigate asthma, obesity, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, precocious puberty, spirit, behavior, and endocrine disorders and diseases in children's influence on children's growth, development level and the influence mechanism. 

To provide a database of etiological and translational research and a repository of environmental and biological samples for future research on maternal and child health. 

Study Population

SBC was designed to have two recruitment points to form a preconception cohort and a pregnancy cohort. For the preconception cohort ,we recruited couples who came to two preconception care clinics for care in Shanghai from 2013 to 2015. Couples were approached by trained research assistants at the waiting rooms. They were eligible if 1) they were 20 years of age or older (legal marriage age in China); 2) at least one of the couple was a registered Shanghai resident; 3) they planned to be pregnant recently; 4) neither of the couple had been diagnosed as having fertility problems; 5) once pregnant, they planned to seek prenatal care and give birth at the SBC participating hospitals; 6) the family intended to stay in the catchment area for at least 2 years; and 7) they were willing to sign a consent form and be followed for at least 2 years. Couples who had tried to conceive spontaneously for more than 12 months and were still not pregnant, or sought reproductive assistance were not enrolled in this cohort. 

For the pregnancy cohort the following couples were eligible for participation in the pregnancy cohort: 1) they were 20 years of age or older; 2) at least one of the couple was a registered Shanghai resident; 3) they planned to seek prenatal care and give birth at the SBC participating hospitals; 4) the family intended to stay in the catchment area for at least 2 years; and 5) they were willing to sign a consent form and be followed for at least 2 years.   

Study Procedures

In the preconception cohort, women were contacted by telephone calls once every two months after the enrollment for 12 months. If a woman became pregnant, she continued to be followed in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimesters. If she was not pregnant by the end of the 12-month follow-up period, she was no longer followed.In the pregnancy cohort, women were recruited at the booking for prenatal care in the first trimester. They were asked to come to the study office for the second visit when they came for the oral glucose tolerance test at 24 – 28 weeks of gestation. And at 32 – 36 weeks gestation, women came for the third visit in conjunction to their routine prenatal care. At the delivery, women were contacted by the research staff. Medical records were reviewed and abstracted. As part of routine clinical care, postpartum women and infants were required to return to the delivery hospital for routine postpartum care at 42 days after birth. Women were interviewed and the babies were examined. At 6, 12 and 24 months of age, they were contacted by the research assistants to return to three designated hospitals for follow-up visits. 

The information collected in the questionnaires, biophysical measurements and biospecimen collections at each visit before and during pregnancy, and after delivery (during childhood). Standard operation procedures were developed. Research staff were specifically trained by study investigators for interview, measurement and biospecimen collection and processing.   

Learn more about SBC,here is the cohort profile link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30629180