Older projects
The following studies have been completed or are no longer funded.
EMSYCAR - East Midlands and South Yorkshire Congenital Anomalies Register
EMSYCAR collected data from 1 January 1997 to 31 March 2015. At first covering the former Trent region, it expanded in 2003 to include Northamptonshire, and monitored around 74,000 births per annum.
It aimed to establish the prevalence of congenital anomalies in the population, monitoring changes over time, and maintaining surveillance throughout the region, investigating any changes in frequency which become apparent. Research into the possible causes and consequences of individual congenital anomalies was undertaken, and data used to evaluate screening, prevention and treatment.
EPICure 2 - A study of extreme prematurity in 2006
The first EPICure Study was established in 1995 to determine the chances of survival and later health status by following up children who were born in the United Kingdom and Ireland at less than 26 weeks gestational age. EPICure 2 looked at a new cohort of babies born in England at 26 weeks of gestation or less during 2006.
LAMBS - Late And Moderate preterm Birth Study
LAMBS was a population-based prospective study of late and moderate preterm birth that aimed to identify perinatal and neonatal risk factors contributing to preterm delivery in infants born in the Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire area and provide current information about the short and long-term outcomes of infants born at this preterm gestation. LAMBS highlighted areas in which changes in perinatal and neonatal care may improve babies' outcomes and aimed to provide information to guide allocation of resources for the provision of ongoing health and educational support for children and young adults with problems.
NIHR Programme Grant - Towards reducing variations in infant mortality and morbidity: a population approach
This research programme comprised two streams: Stream 1 investigated why babies die in the first year of life (e.g. prematurity, serious birth defect, infection) and explored health inequalities across the UK relating to local factors such as deprivation, ethnicity and place of birth. Stream 2 was the LAMBS study, which looked at the group of babies born moderately premature (4 to 7 weeks early).
PANDA - Preterm AND After
PANDA aimed to provide information about the long-term outcome of very preterm infants to health professionals for the counselling of parents, and to monitor the appropriateness of treatments and the cost effectiveness of neonatal intensive care services. Data was collected using questionnaires sent to the parents or guardians of The Neonatal Survey (TNS) infants who were born on or after 1 January 2007 at less than 31 weeks' gestation to a mother resident in East Midlands and Yorkshire and were survivors at 2 years of corrected age.
PRIME - Preterm Birth: Impact on Mathematics and Education
Around 70,000 children are born preterm (before 37 weeks of gestation) each year in England alone, many of whom may have health and developmental problems later in life. As the numbers of babies born preterm continues to increase, this will pose challenges for education systems worldwide. The PRIME Study was carried out by researchers in Leicester, Loughborough and Warwick to learn more about the outcomes of these children in order to provide important information for public policy and education planning.
PRISM - PRemature Infants' Skills in Mathematics
Around 13,000 babies are born very prematurely, before 32 weeks of gestation, each year in England alone. These babies are at high risk for problems with their thinking and learning later in life and up to 2 in 3 will have special educational needs, particularly in maths. The PRISM Study was carried out by researchers in Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham and London to find out about the nature and causes of very premature children’s difficulties with maths in primary school to help understand the best ways to support their learning in the classroom.
TNS - The Neonatal Survey
The aims of TNS were to underpin clinical governance in relation to neonatal intensive care (NIC) services; facilitate the planning of the future strategy and development of NIC services; provide a research infrastructure for NIC; and provide education for professionals involved in NIC.
Understanding inequalities in cause-specific infant mortality
The key aim of this study was to understand the widening inequalities in infant mortality rates (death in the first year of life). We found that these inequalities were mostly due to high rates of babies born preterm (before 37 weeks of gestation) or with a congenital anomaly in more deprived areas.