Over the last month I have been taking part in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS). They tell you that they are interviewing mothers who have given birth to healthy babies and mothers who have given birth to babies with birth defects.
Which one am I? I am involved in this study because of Emersyn's Craniosynostosis. At this point we are still unsure of exactly when the cranio took place. It could have been in the womb, at some point after she was born, or it could be genetic. I truly believe it happened in the womb and wasn't discovered because of the swelling from the vacuum assist. Regardless, I was added to a mailing/contact list because of Emersyn's surgery.
I was contacted by the NBDPS and asked if I would do an hour long phone interview. This was a paid interview. Yup, I made $20 for answering questions. For me it wasn't about the money. If I can help provide research on birth defects and maybe find some answers, then I'm happy to help.
The phone interview was all about my health and lifestyle prior to Emersyn being born and while I was pregnant with her. They ask about food, exercise, drugs illegal and OTC, drinking, people in your household, and a million other questions. Some of the questions I thought were useful and others were quite ridiculous. For example, How many apples and/or pears did you eat in a 7 day period prior to giving birth to Emersyn? ARE YOU SERIOUS PEOPLE!!!!! I can't even remember how many I've had to eat this week, and you want me to remember what I ate prior to pregnancy and while I was pregnant? That was well over a year ago!!!!!!! And how about this one.... Did you snort or smoke crack cocaine while pregnant? I think I actually laughed out loud at this one! After a split interview, meaning 2 separate phone calls to finish the entire thing...yes it took more than an hour. Surprise. There were so many questions that I did one half on a Saturday while the kids were sleeping and the other half at 8:30pm on a Tuesday night. I was very happy to help but glad it was over. Some of the questions could be useful, but others were just flat out stupid. Now after finishing this phone interview, the lady asked if I'd like to take part in the cheek cell swab kit. Zack & I did talk this over before participating. There was no harm in doing it. Like I previously stated, I'd be happy to help if doing all of this would give data in finding answers for the cause of birth defects in babies.
Onward.....the cheek cell kit came in the mail. I guess I didn't realize how hard it would be to swab a infants cheek. Zack swabbed his cheeks, I swabbed mine. Done! The kit said to swab each cheek for 30 seconds. In my mind 30 seconds didn't seem like a lot of time. That was until Emersyn started chewing on it, blocking the swab with her gums, gagging,trying to grab the stick, and smiling, and BOOM...what a failure. I did get a chance to swab each cheek, but not even close to 30 seconds. That would be inconclusive data if you ask me. I did mail in the completed kit knowing that nothing would probably come from it. I tried and that's all that counts. On a side note, I did get an additional $20 to do this kit. I thought it was nice that they paid the participants.
Not sure the questionnaire or swab kit will be useful, but it makes me feel good that I participated. I want to be proactive in helping others. I'm sure many, many other woman participated in this study, so it will be interesting to see what is concluded from it all. It might be nothing since there were so many areas for error. Oh well.
Once the study is completed, all participants will receive a newsletter stating the findings.
If anything great comes from this, I'll be sure to update :-)
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