Maternal Health

Canadian Mother-Child Cohort (CAMCCO)

The overarching aim of the CAMCCO research program is to quantify the benefits and risks of the use of prescription medications during pregnancy in a real-world setting. The longitudinal design of the study allows for the examination of short- and long-term health outcomes, for both the mother and child. At present, the CAMCCO collaboration consists of data from five provinces: Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan, with planned inclusions of British Columbia and Nova Scotia.  Each provincial principal investigator has access to longitudinal pregnancy-birth and maternal and child administrative healthcare data, including vital statistics (birth registry), hospital (inpatient), ambulatory care (outpatient clinics, emergency department), physician billing, and pharmacy claims.

CAMCCO-Learn and the Healthy Pregnancy Hub are two initiatives that are part of the CAMCCO collaboration. CAMCCO-Learn is the first Canadian platform to offer transdisciplinary training in perinatal research on medications. Building on the foundation of CAMCCO-Learn, the Healthy Pregnancy Hub is a new canada-wide online platform that provides evidence-based information about the safety of prescription medications during pregnancy to assist pregnant individuals in making informed choices alongside their healthcare providers. 

CVC Faculty Involvement:
Padma Kaul, PhD

Publications:

One Child Every Child (OCEC)

In 2023, the Government of Canada announced a $125 million dollar investment in the University of Calgary’s OCEC  initiative, which will focus on children’s health and wellness research. Dr. Padma Kaul, alongside Dr. Amy Metcalfe from the University of Calgary, will facilitate one of the project’s three key research themes — “Better Beginnings” — investigating the health and well–being of pregnant people and their infants.

CVC Faculty Involvement:
Padma Kaul, PhD

Publications:

Pregnancy Complications and Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

International guidelines are focusing more on the pregnancy period to identify women at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the long-term. Evidence suggests that pregnancy factors, such as gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and neonatal outcomes, may identify women who are at higher risk for future CVD. The Pregnancy Complications and Long-Term Risk of Cardiovascular Disease study aims to develop and validate clinical risk prediction tools to quantifying postpartum risks of CVD in women, utilizing pregnancy and birth cohorts from Alberta and Denmark.

CVC Faculty Involvement:
Padma Kaul, PhD

Publications: