The scientific research has not stopped!

The Obstetrics and Gynecology team at Sant Pau Hospital, which is part of the BiSC project, together with ISGlobal, have recently published (September 2020) a review on the effects of exposure to pollution during pregnancy on placental development and risk of developing preeclampsia.

They concluded that being exposed to air pollution and noise is associated with greater placental dysfunction and a higher risk of preeclampsia. In contrast, increased exposure to green areas during pregnancy appears to mitigate this impact.

This is another study that highlights the importance of continuing to study the effects that pollution can have during pregnancy and fetal and neonatal involvement, as we are conducting with the BiSC study.

There […]

We keep moving forward with the 32 week hospital visit!

Despite the pandemic, the BISC project and all the professionals involved have not stopped, on the contrary, they have adapted to the new regulations that COVID 19 has generated.

To date, the project has 811 volunteer patients enrolled, and 437 environmental visits carried out, respecting all security measures.

In fact, during the confinement, the field workers have left the devices for the assessment of environmental pollutants directly at the door of the house so that the pregnant women could install it directly in their homes.

Regarding to the visit at week 32 of pregnancy, our fetal assessment protocol focused on neurodevelopment and fetal heart function has not changed, and we have 259 […]

The BiSC project is readjusting to the context of the COVID-19 pandemic!

As in many other professional fields, and also in our personal lives, the COVID-19 pandemic has also forced the readjustment of the BiSC Project. The research team and the group of field workers who make the project possible have had to readjust the contact and interaction with future mothers, the collection of biological samples, the measures of exposure to pollution in the homes of the participating families, as well as the protocol for monitoring babies who have been born since March.

MRI: Unfortunately for several months we have not been able to do MRI on 27 day old babies; many families have shown interest in taking this test. The good news is that a week ago we were able to restart the test! So, we expect a high participation, because […]

The BiSC project will obtain genetic data from mothers and their babies!

The BiSC project has secured funding from the Carlos III Institute of Health (ISCIII) to be able to genotype mothers and their babies. Genotyping consists of determining for each individual which variant (or shape) has a specific position of the DNA sequence, among all the possible variants existing in the population. The new project will determine about half a million genetic variants, which will be used to infer a total of 40 million more variants, which will give us a genetic footprint of each individual. This information will allow us to understand complex phenotypes, such as birth weight or susceptibility to asthma, which are determinant by a combination of genetic variants and environmental factors.

The first genetic study we want to carry out is related to the placenta, a unique organ that originates from the fetus but is in […]

The MOOD-COVID study is already underway!

At the start of confinement by COVID-19 in March 2020, we initiated a questionnaire-based study to assess the emotional state of BiSC volunteers.

This study was launched thanks to the willingness of researchers and participants in a time of emergency to answer an important question: How does confinement and the health crisis impact the mental health of pregnant women and mothers with young babies?

The study has now been funded by the AXA Research Fund (France), along with 9 other international projects, out of 500 proposals evaluated by independent experts. Obtaining this highly competitive funding indicates the relevance of this study. This funding will allow us to expedite the analysis but also expand the study. In this extension, in addition to studying how the health crisis impacts the mental health of pregnant women and mothers with young babies, we will […]

Very good summer and happy holidays!

We end another year of the BiSC project. These last few months have been quite curious and unexpected, but from BiSC we hope you can enjoy this summer vacation and we can recharge batteries to start September with a lot of energy!

From the news section of the project and from all the people who work at BiSC we want to wish you a very good summer vacation!

Remember that the project does not stop, and that recruitment is still active so if you need anything just contact us.

The BiSC project and the eye-tracker technique!

Little by little, the BiSC project is back on track, and after these months of confinement, we have news!

Recall that one of the main objectives of the BiSC project was to assess whether there is any association between air pollution levels and children’s neurodevelopment.

At BiSC, throughout the postnatal period we are already conducting different tests at 6 months of age regarding neurodevelopment, such as the Bayley Scale questionnaires.

In addition, during the last few weeks, from the Laboratory of Attention, Perception and Language Acquisition of the University of Barcelona, ​​we have taken the opportunity to prepare two new studies through which we can obtain […]

We have completed the first phase of the study on the emotional impact of BiSC volunteers during confinement!

At the beginning of the confinement, set to cut the transmission of COVID-19, we started a study based on questionnaires to assess the emotional state of the BiSC volunteers.

The study consisted of 5 questionnaires, the last of which was passed last week (final questionnaire). In total, 398 volunteers took part and answered at least one of the questionnaires.

Couples were also invited to participate in the final questionnaire and 78 participated.

As of today, we are working to assess the short-term impact of this health crisis and the mental health confinement of pregnant women […]

We started the 12-month follow-up questionnaire!

We have started monitoring babies at 12 months, the entire BiSC team is excited to know that the project’s volunteer babies have already reached the year of life!

In this questionnaire, we ask questions about the emotional state of mothers, and also about the lactation and diet habits followed by babies, in order to know how they can affect their microbiota.

On the other hand, we also included questions about the environment where they live, or frequent (ex: the kindergarten) to find out if they are exposed to certain environmental factors such as air pollution or noise, which may have an effect on the baby’s neurodevelopment. It is for this reason, that it is […]

We are reactivating in BiSC again after 8 weeks of confinement!!

During these 8 weeks of confinement, we have been in telephone contact with BiSC volunteers to perform prenatal and postnatal follow-up, but without a face-to-face visit, neither in the hospital nor in the homes.

From now on, little by little, we will be doing some face-to-face visits, starting with the ultrasound at 32 weeks of gestation. This is a hospital visit, follow-up of the pregnancy, with health professionals, and with the maximum safety measures.

In addition, we have resumed recruitment, so far only by telephone by the nurses in the study (questionnaires and signing of informed consent). And soon, we will visit the house again, for the time being very simplified, without any contact with […]