Maternal mental health help to protect kids’ breathing health
Official title: Promoting child respiratory health through novel psychosocial targets: An investigation of a maternal mental health intervention
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11614750 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A mother-focused mental health program is tested to see if improving moms’ mood can also support better breathing and fewer asthma symptoms in children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2025 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $155,058 |
| NIH project number | 3R01HL180944-02S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11614750 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children aged from birth to early adolescence whose mothers participate in the maternal depression intervention and who are part of the Bachpan birth cohort in rural Pakistan.
✕Less likely to help
Children whose mothers do not participate in the intervention or who experience unrelated factors affecting respiratory health may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project builds on a birth-cohort study in rural Pakistan and adds a randomized maternal depression intervention to see if improving maternal mental health leads to better child lung function. Researchers will track children from pregnancy through early adolescence to observe respiratory outcomes and adverse experiences that might influence breathing. The study uses existing cohort infrastructure, with careful attention to long-term follow-up and data collection in a low-resource setting. If successful, the approach could point to a scalable way to improve child respiratory health by supporting mothers. The work involves collaboration across disciplines to translate maternal mental health care into potential respiratory benefits for children.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If the maternal intervention improves child respiratory health, families could experience fewer asthma symptoms and better long-term lung function.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work suggests maternal well-being can influence child health, but this specific randomized approach to respiratory outcomes is novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Frost, Allison — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Frost, Allison
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.