Grant: Emerging Team Grant - Maternal Health: From Pre-conception to the Empty Nest

Issues related to severe illnesses among pregnant women and mothers in industrialized countries have received increasing emphasis in recent years for several reasons including the life threatening nature of such illness and the potential for subsequent disability. In addition, changes in maternal characteristics (e.g., increases in maternal age, and pre-pregnancy obesity) and in obstetric practice (e.g., increases in cesarean delivery) mean that careful monitoring is required if threats to the health of women are to be identified and prevented. The goal of this application is to create a research team that carries out detailed clinical and epidemiologic investigations of severe maternal illnesses in order to improve maternal health. Specific objectives 1. Bringing together a multi-disciplinary group of researchers who will work collaboratively on specific research projects related to severe maternal illnesses (such as severe maternal bleeding at delivery requiring blood transfusion, kidney failure, heart disease, stoke, puerperal sepsis and obstetric shock). 2. To facilitate the translation of knowledge related to severe maternal illnesses into national guidelines and supporting guideline implementation. 3. To build capacity for research into severe maternal illnesses in Canada by creating a collegial and intellectually stimulating research training environment for students. The team proposes to carry out these research projects using 3 different methodologies including etiologic studies, studies of best clinical practices and clinical audits using medical records at 15 large perinatal hospitals in Canada. The knowledge translation acitvities of the team will be carried out along with external partners such as the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. These activities are expected to contribute significantly to addressing the burden of illness among pregnant women in Canada and elsewhere.