Reviewed by Danielle Ellis, B.Sc.Sep 5 2023 The money coming to Illinois is part of a national collaborative effort to explore how environmental exposures influence child development, cognition, growth and health.
So far, IKIDS has investigated chemical exposures in more than 500 pregnancies, following many of the children from the prenatal period into their eighth year of life. The work has led to discoveries relating to the vast number of chemical exposures that occur during pregnancy and the relationship between these exposures and cognitive and developmental outcomes. Here are some of the findings:
The previous work at the U. of I. was conducted in relatively high income, highly educated families, Schantz said. Going forward, the IKIDS team is focused on recruiting another 600 mothers and fathers during pregnancy, with an emphasis on bringing a broader representation of families into the cohort. This will involve collaborations with Promise Healthcare and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, Schantz said.