Samples

What types of samples will you collect from me and my baby?

The researchers doing this study will be doing tests on biological samples collected from you or your baby that will help them understand the health and development of your baby and its placenta during pregnancy, along with any exposures to substances they may have experienced during pregnancy. All biological samples collected during this study will be used only for these purposes. 

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Urine Collection:
At each visit you will be asked to provide a minimum 10mL urine sample. A portion of the urine sample collected (1mL) will be sent for broad spectrum drug screening. The remaining urine sample will be sent to the Study Coordinating Centre and stored for future use related to the study.

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Umbilical Cord Blood Collection:
After delivery of your baby, a 10 mL umbilical cord blood sample will be collected. The sample will be sent to the Study Coordinating Centre and stored for future use related to the study.  

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Placenta Examination and Tissue Collection:
After delivery, samples will be taken from your placenta. Study staff will collect and freeze 10 pieces of tissue (0.5cm cubed each) from 5 different locations. An additional 2 pieces of tissue will then be taken and preserved in wax blocks. The frozen samples and wax preserved samples will be sent to the Placenta Lab for testing and future use related to the study.
 
The remainder of your placenta will be sent to the pathology department at the study site and a standard assessment, including weight, size, and identification of abnormalities, will be completed by a clinical pathologist. Results of the standard pathology assessment will be entered and/or uploaded into the study database.