Window Brain

The Window Brain Project is being conducted to look for links between certain pregnancy complications and brain health in women who have been pregnant. Placental malperfusion and preeclampsia are disorders that arise during pregnancy, and emerging evidence shows that these disorders may be related to later life risk of memory problems like Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. This research study is examining how pregnancy may provide clues about brain health approximately 15 years after pregnancy.

Window Lite

The Window Lite Research Study is an extension of the Window Brain Project. Women who delivered a baby at Magee between 2008-2012 with placental pathology evaluation are invited to participate. We are collecting a remote survey and phone call that will help us to better understand cognitive changes in women since pregnancy.

Heart Health Doula

The Doula Study is investigating a multi-level intervention to improve postpartum blood pressure in women with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy. Participants will be randomized to receive either usual care with home blood pressure monitoring for 6 weeks or an intervention of usual care along with weight monitoring and support from a doula trained in heart health. The Doula Study is conducted in partnership with Healthy Start Inc.

NuMoM2b-HHS2 Study

NuMoM2b-HHS2 study is the continuation of the nuMoM2b research study (Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-be), which followed 10,000 people who had their first pregnancy between the years of 2010-2013. The participants take part in regular phone or online interviews to gather information and confirm medical and pregnancy histories and are also asked to attend an in-person study visit with interviews, clinical measurements, and blood and urine sample collection. Many participants are invited to take part in related studies that will gather more detailed information about their health as well. The study will help us learn about risk factors and signs of early heart issues and how these may be related to past pregnancy problems, and we hope that findings from this study will help us understand how to lower the risk of chronic diseases and improve health results, particularly those that differ by race.

ENRICH Study

The Early Intervention to Promote Cardiovascular Health of Mothers and Children (ENRICH) study is a multicenter trial with seven clinical centers across the United States. ENRICH aims to test whether “enriching” evidence-based home visiting programs – the Family Check-Up (FCU) at our site – with cardiovascular health promotion content during the prenatal period improves parents’ and children’s CVH compared to usual home visiting.

Our Pilot Study – Family Check-Up (FCU) Heart

The FCU Heart Study is a randomized-controlled and community-partnered pilot study testing the implementation and effectiveness of integrating a cardiovascular health (CVH) improvement program into an evidence-based home visiting model, the Family Check-Up (FCU), creating FCU-Heart. Set in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, this study will pilot the FCU-Heart intervention to assess the impact of FCU-Heart on CVH outcomes of low- income, high-risk postpartum mothers, and children. FCU-Heart aims to improve CVH and reduce racial disparities in CVH outcomes by assessing maternal CVH, providing direct feedback about each mother’s CVH, then offering skills and resources to promote their own and their infants’ CVH through culturally adapted evidence-based modules with trained FCU-Heart family coaches.