NI BabyHearts 2: Examining preconceptional and antenatal factors in relation to the developmental and educational outcomes of children with Congenital Heart Disease

Background: Congenital Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect in children accounting for almost one third of congenital abnormalities diagnosed prenatally or in infancy (1). No single cause of CHD has been identified and is most likely to be multifactorial, determined by a combination of genetic, antenatal and postnatal factors (2). Having CHD can have a significant and lasting impact on children’s health and development (3-6) with well documented neurodevelopmental deficits experienced by some children with CHD (7-13). However, little evidence relates children’s developmental outcomes to periconceptual or antenatal factors. BabyHearts 2 is a unique opportunity to investigate these relationships in a large cohort with extensive antenatal data available. Aim: To investigate the potential impact of periconceptual and antenatal environmental factors on children’s birth outcomes, their physical health, neurodevelopment and academic achievement in BabyHearts children (6-9y), born with and without CHD. Method: A matched case-control follow-up investigation of the BabyHearts cohort, 6-9y post-recruitment. The original study (2014-2017) included 242 cases and 966 controls with 95% consenting to re-contact for further research. A combination of clinical data, parental proxy measures (14; 15) and child-completed standardised assessments (16-18) will be collected for detailed analysis. The BabyHearts dataset contains all periconceptual, antenatal and mother participant information and birth outcome data will be extracted from the maternity administrative database, NIMATS. Impact: To inform clinical care and service provision to identify needs in the overall care package for children with CHD, influence periconceptual advice and mothers' behaviour during pregnancy and add significantly to CHD evidence.