Mother & Infant Research Electronic Data Analysis (MIREDA)

The Mother & Infant Research Electronic Data Analysis (MIREDA), led by the National Centre for Population Health & Wellbeing Research is a partnership which brings together leading researchers from Swansea University, the University of Edinburgh, King’s College London, the University of Nottingham, the University of Birmingham, and the Bradford Institute for Health Research.

Poverty, disadvantage and associated poor health frequently start at the earliest stages of life with behaviours such as drug and alcohol use affecting a baby’s development before and after birth with implications that can last a lifetime.

MIREDA aims to improve maternal and infant health, particularly among disadvantaged groups by developing new resources and tools for research using routinely collected data.

MIREDA will shape understanding and inform interventions by: 

• Creating a UK resource that includes harmonised maternal and infant birth-cohort health data linked to local datasets in public health, neonatal health, imaging, primary care and hospitals;
• Establishing a multidisciplinary collaboration to undertake analysis in each cohort without needing to move the data;
• Developing methods for data standardisation and common data management across datasets and implementing software for automating epidemiological study methods;

• Working with others to build research capacity and networks in the field, using online and face-to-face workshops, seminars, conferences, and research development group meetings to share knowledge and skills; and,
• Providing pump-priming funding to support rising-star researchers and international maternal and infant health collaborations. It will also leverage additional funds for research to improve maternal care and infant outcomes.

MIREDA is funded by The Medical Research Council (MRC).