Newborn

We have a short video that explains what will happen if you take part.  Click here to watch the video without subtitles, or click here to watch with subtitles.

Blood sample

If your baby was born preterm, we will collect a blood spot (the ‘Guthrie card’) from your baby. This sample is timed to coincide with a blood test that is needed as part of your baby’s usual NHS care and no extra needle procedure is involved.

Saliva sample

We will collect a saliva sample from your baby. The saliva sample will take 5 to 10 minutes to collect and is done using a mouth swab sample kit, similar to a cotton wool bud being placed just inside the cheek.

A person’s “genetic make-up” may be defined as the molecules in our bodies that we inherit from our parents, which help determine who we are, and how our body grows and develops. This information is held in a ‘code’ that exists in the cells of our body, called DNA. The exact way in which that code works is influenced by another set of molecules in each cell called the epigenome. Both types of genetic information can be obtained from cells that are present in saliva, and we use this information to measure immune system function.

Hair

If your baby was born preterm, we will collect a second sample of your baby’s hair in the same way as the first one, taken around the time they are due to go home from the neonatal unit.

Stool samples

A sample of your baby’s first stool will be collected. If your baby was born preterm we will collect a second sample before your baby leaves hospital. We do this by keeping a dirty nappy. Stool (meconium and faeces) contain lots of bacteria. The number and type of bacteria in stool is important for long term health. There is some evidence that early life events, such as type of delivery, type of milk feed and the need for antibiotics can change the bacteria in the stool. We want to find out the effect of preterm birth on these bacteria, and whether it matters for babies in the long run.

Pictures of brain development from MRI

Sometime near their due date, your baby will be invited for an MRI scan. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain provides very detailed pictures that cannot be obtained in any other way (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: Newborn brain MRI scan

It is safe and does not involve radiation. MRI tells us about brain structure and how the nerve pathways connect. By using MRI, we can study how connections are changed by premature birth. 

The scan will take place at the Brain Research Imaging Centre in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. When you arrive you and your baby will be greeted by a research team member who will take you to the MRI suite.

Before the scan, one of the research team will perform a routine check and examination of your baby. We will confirm that your baby is well with no signs of coughs or colds, and that he/she is fit for MRI scanning. We ask that your baby does not wear any jewellery, religious artefacts or clothing with metal ‘poppers’ because the presence of metallic objects can affect the quality of the images.

The MRI scanner is a cylinder-shaped tube surrounded by a circular magnet (Figure 2).

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Figure 2: The MRI scanner

Your child will be swaddled in a blanket and placed on the examination table whilst asleep, usually after being settled with a feed. We ensure your baby is secure by using a special wrap, which helps settle them. The table slides on runners into the centre of the circular magnet. Next to the scanner is the control room where the radiographer taking the pictures sits. This has clear views into the scanner. You can be with your baby until the scan starts and immediately when it finishes. While your baby is in the scanner you can get a tea or coffee (either in the imaging centre coffee room or nearby in the hospital), or go into the scanner room with your baby assuming that you are happy to undergo MRI safety screening required for all people who go in the scanner room, and are happy to wear ear phones to dampen down the noise of the scanner.

The scan will last about 60 minutes. Your baby’s oxygen levels and heart rate will be monitored during the scan. A researcher who is clinically qualified to care for babies (doctor, nurse or midwife) will be present in the control room observing your baby.  We will also monitor your baby’s oxygen and heart rate after the scan has finished, until they wake up and have a feed.  Some babies wake and feed soon after the scan but others may take longer, depending on their feeding habits, but in our experience babies tend to have woken within an hour.  The total time taken for the MRI scan appointment may be as much as 2 hours or even a little longer to include the 60 minutes of the scan itself plus the up to 60 minutes your baby may take to wake up and feed.

We try to make sure that babies go to sleep naturally, as they need to be as still as possible for the scan to work. We achieve this by letting your baby have a feed and swaddling them. If your baby likes a pacifier we can also use this during the scan. We have found that these simple methods usually enable the baby to sleep through the whole scan.

We will pay your travel expenses to attend the MRI scan and you will receive a £20 shopping voucher. After the scan, we will send you a high-quality print of your baby’s brain to keep. 

Questionnaires

We will ask you to complete four questionnaires about you and your baby before you leave hospital and will take about 45 minutes in total to complete. This will include a short reading questionnaire for yourself because this is a good way to learn about abilities that children inherit from parents.