Purpose of The Study

Scientists think that the connection between the brain and microorganisms in our gut could help us understand how social difficulties impact pregnant individuals’ mental health and their children’s brain development and how to lessen their effects.

SPPIN (Society, Pregnancy, Postpartum & Infant Neurodevelopment) is a research study recruiting 600 pregnant people and their babies in Edmonton. It aims to investigate whether social environments impact the microorganisms in their gut, as well as how they might affect their mental health and their child’s brain development. The study will follow participants and their babies over a total of six visits for up to three years after birth.

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DID YOU KNOW?

A pregnant woman's uterus expands up to 500 times its normal size over the course of a pregnancy.

SPPIN will collect information about participants’ living conditions, gut microorganisms, mental health during pregnancy and after birth, and child’s brain development over the first three years of life.

The SPPIN study will provide important information about how social conditions can affect the health of pregnant people and their children, especially under difficult circumstances. The results of the SPPIN study will help with the design of interventions aimed at promoting better health during pregnancy and in the first years of life.

Contact

+1 613 533 6000 (x78152)
info@sppin.ca

Queen’s University and the SPPIN Lab are located on the unceded lands of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and the Anishinaabek Nation.