Pregnancy and baby health for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Official title: Maternal and Infant Outcomes among Pregnant Women with Intellectual and Developmental Disability
Funded at University of California, San Diego · NIH-11249642 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at why pregnant people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have higher risks during pregnancy and for their babies using large health and birth records.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2024 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $381,916 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD112525-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11249642 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant people or those planning pregnancy who have an intellectual or developmental disability (including autistic people), particularly whose care and births are recorded in the administrative databases used (e.g., state hospital and birth records).
✕Less likely to help
People without an IDD diagnosis or whose pregnancies occur outside the medical or birth records used (for example unrecorded home births or care completely outside the included regions) are unlikely to be included or directly benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers will use large-scale hospital, birth, and administrative records to examine pregnancy and infant outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities like you. They will compare different IDD diagnoses (including autism) and use advanced statistical methods called causal mediation analyses to untangle how factors such as chronic health conditions, smoking, prenatal care, and pregnancy complications contribute to those risks. The team will quantify how much each factor explains the higher risks so they can point to specific targets for interventions. The goal is to identify practical places—such as improving prenatal care or managing chronic conditions—where changes could help mothers and infants.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to specific care changes or programs that reduce pregnancy and infant risks for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have shown higher maternal and infant risks for people with IDD, but few have used large administrative data combined with causal mediation methods, so this approach is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bandoli, Gretchen E. — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Bandoli, Gretchen E.
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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.