P2RISM- Digging deeper into post-partum and neonatal lab tests

Healthcare relies heavily on the lab and reference intervals (RIs) to guide test interpretation and patient management, but did you ever wonder how we know what is normal or abnormal? RIs should represent the intended population and method of testing. However, current RIs for pregnant women and neonates are poorly characterized owing to their quickly changing physiology and difficulty in obtaining blood samples from babies.

This study aims to recruit healthy pregnant women and newborns to donate blood samples (collected at the same time as routine newborn metabolic screening),1day post-partum, in order to create RIs that lab physicians and clinicians can be confident in. We will also be collecting participant feedback on their overall experience with the study in order to refine and shape future endeavours involving blood collections in healthy populations.

More information can be found at: www.bcchr.ca/prism

The Women’s Health Research Institute would like to acknowledge that we are uninvited guests on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lo, and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-waututh) Nations.

As a provincial research institute committed to improving the health outcomes of women, including those across the 2SLGBTQIA+ spectrum, we recognize our responsibility in the collective effort towards establishing culturally safe health care systems and services that address health inequities among Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women, girls, and Two-spirit peoples.

We encourage all people involved in research to read both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the In Plain Sight Report, and reflect on ways we can incorporate the recommendations into our work. As we gather in spaces together, we encourage you to reflect on your positionality on these lands and your personal commitments to reconciliation.

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