Advancing understanding of the longer-term effects of medical interventions in pregnancy on the child’s health and development

While there is increasing recognition of the potential for pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions during pregnancy to influence the child’s longer-term health and development, robust empirical evidence about this is lacking for many interventions in pregnancy. I aim to advance understanding in this field using recent advances in the ability to link routinely-collected UK health and education data combined with the latest best practices for improving the quality and transparency of evidence derived from such data. Using this data and best practices I will generate:1) Observational evidence about the longer-term effects on the child’s health and development of two example interventions where randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are unlikely to be feasible: planned caesarean and asthma medication use in pregnancy; 2) RCT evidence about the longer-term effects on the child’s health and development of another example intervention: giving iron supplements during pregnancy to prevent maternal anaemia. This research will address key research priorities and focuses on some of the commonest interventions/issues in pregnancy. It can also serve as a template for how routinely-collected data can advance understanding about the effects of other interventions in pregnancy, strengthening the evidence-base for policy, regulatory, clinical and patient decision-making and helping optimise outcomes for families.