Anwer, Yasmeen, Abbasi, Fahad, Dar, Ariba, Hafeez, Abdullah, Valdebenito, Sara, Eisner, Manuel, Sikander, Siham 
ORCID: 0000-0002-0223-7234 and Hafeez, Assad
(2022)
Feasibility of a birth-cohort in Pakistan: evidence for better lives study.
Pilot and feasibility studies, 8 (1).
29-.
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Abstract
<h4>Background</h4>Evidence for Better Lives Study Foundational Research (EBLS-FR) is a preliminary endeavor to establish the feasibility of a global birth cohort, and within this feasibility study, piloting the research instrument, with participants from eight lower middle-income countries across the globe. It aims to investigate mediators and moderators of child development and wellbeing; it envisages informing policy and practice change to promote child health and wellbeing globally. Pakistan is one of the resource poor lower middle-income country (LMIC) taking part in this global birth cohort; we report the feasibility of establishing such a birth cohort in Pakistan.<h4>Method</h4>From March 2019 to July 2019, 153 third trimester pregnant women were identified, using community health worker registers, and approached for baseline demographics and a number of maternal wellbeing, mental health, support-related information, and stress-related biomarkers from bio-samples in a peri-urban area of Islamabad Capital Territory. One hundred fifty of these women gave consent and participated in the study. From October 2019 to December 2019, we re-contacted and were able to follow 121 of these women in the 8-24 weeks postnatal period. All interviews were done after obtaining informed consent and data were collected electronically.<h4>Results</h4>One hundred fifty (98.0%) third trimester pregnant women consented and were successfully interviewed, 111 (74.0%) provided bio-samples and 121 (80.6%) were followed up postnatally. Their mean age and years of schooling was 27.29 (SD = 5.18) and 7.77 (SD = 4.79) respectively. A majority (82.3%) of the participants were housewives. Nearly a tenth were first time mothers. Ninety-two (61.3%) of the women reported current pregnancy to have been unplanned. Overall wellbeing and mental health were reported to be poor (WHO-5 mean scores 49.41 (SD = 32.20) and PHQ-9 mean scores 8.23 (SD = 7.0)). Thirty-eight (21.8%) of the women reported four or more adverse childhood experiences; 46 (31.3%) reported intimate partner violence during their current pregnancy. During the postnatal follow up visits, 72 (58.0%) of the women reported breastfeeding their infants.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The foundational research demonstrated that Pakistan site could identify, approach, interview, and follow up women and children postnatally, with a high response rates for both the follow up visits and bio-samples. Therefore, a future larger-scale pregnancy birth cohort study in Pakistan is feasible.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Birth Cohort Study, EBLS-FR, Feasibility, Foundational research, Maternal Mental Health Evidence for Better Lives Study (EBLS), Maternal and child wellbeing, Pakistan |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Population Health |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 24 May 2022 14:29 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 21:01 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s40814-022-00980-x |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3155417 |
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