National Children's Study – Would You Donate Your Placenta and the Next 21 Years to Science?
One professor told the New York Times that it compares it to a trip to the moon. The National Children’s Study is a 21-year, $6.7 billion project that aims to answer some pretty big questions about children’s health, starting before they are even born.
But it’s having a little trouble even getting off the ground.
In the next five years, researchers need to recruit 100,000 women — about 250 a year in each of 105 communities. But though they’ve already recruited several hundred women, they figure they need to knock on about 40 doors (instead of the anticipated 14) to find one pregnant woman who wants to participate.
Let’s look at the pros.
You and your child get to be a part of history. Consider the Nurses’ Health Study, which was started in 1976 and has provide a treasure trove of information about women’s health. If this study goes as planned, the next generation of parents will have the answers to so many questions that we ask today.
But then there are the cons.
Scientists will ask pregnant participants for samples of their blood, their vaginal fluids, their toenail clippings, and will claim their placenta upon delivery. And for 21 years, they’ll keep asking for more — dust samples from your home, bed, and carpet, more bodily fluids, the names and addresses of friends and relatives in case you move away and forget to notify them.
The commitment has more women than expected balking at the notion. That combined with funding and content issues, means the National Children’s Study might need to be scaled back or changed to be completed.
Despite the inconvenience, I would have loved to be a part of this study. (Note to researchers: I’m not nor do I intend to become pregnant, so save your door-knocking for another neighborhood.) But I can understand why someone would look at 21 years of researchers asking really personal questions with some hesitation.
Would you consider being part of the study?
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I would want to know more about what they plan to do with my parts (placenta, toenails, even dust), but yes, I’d be interested in helping. The benefits to humanity could be life-changing. But like the author, I’m (most likely!) finished having children.
We’re done, too, but I totally would have done this. Part of the reason? A reeeeeeally big study like this might provide some more valid data than a bunch of smaller studies. I think the results of smaller studies tend to be the ones that are trumpeted in the media as proof of some alarming health risk (along the lines of “toothpaste causes cancer…film at 11″). Through no fault of the researchers, usually, the results are taken out of context. In a bigger study, you’re able to more effectively control for confounding factors.
This is interesting and scary at the the same time. It made me think of movies like ‘The Truman Show’, ‘Gattaca’ and oddly enough the television show ‘Fringe’. Technically our world is capable of doing just about anything. And, the ideology of most, like stem cell research, is very positive. But, whether it is the comic books of yore or something else, I wonder if the good is, at some point, accompanied by the bad. This particular study sounds incredible and, other than the obvious scientific information, what could go wrong? And, that is the rub. Just asking the question makes me think ‘lots could go wrong’. I don’t know what it could be but….so, I don’t want to be the rain on the parade, only wondering is there is a down side to this. I am also beyond having more children (I have grandkids!) so, perhaps it is being older that makes me wonder about this. The media can not be counted on 100% (‘they wouldn’t print that unless it was true’)to present a fair picture to the public as they are influenced by the economy, politics and such.
I’d do it in a heart beat if I wasn’t through with kids. Hell, my child has participated in like, five studies in the infant cognition lab at my alma mater. A) helping doctoral students do their work appeals to me and b) the more crap we dispel about kids through science, the better off we all are.
ann05…exactly.
And Pam, I think I understand where you’re coming from…I guess my philosophy is that more knowledge=good, even if it is sometimes misused. And my thinking is that the data gathered by a big, big study like this are maybe a bit less likely to be misinterpreted or co-opted to make someone’s political point, etc.