Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) neonate oral swabs for microbiota analysis

The Kuopio Birth Cohort (KuBiCo) is a joint Finnish research effort that seeks to evaluate the effects of genetics, epigenetics, and different risk factors during pregnancy on the somatic and psychological health status of the mother and the child. Recruitment for KuBiCo started in 2012 in the Kuopio University Hospital (KUH), and all children born there and their mothers have been invited to participate. The aim is to collect a dataset consisting of 10,000 mother-child dyads. A written informed consent was acquired from all participating mothers. The cohort include biological samples, questionnaire answers and medical registry data. Most of the biological samples, including microbial swabs from neonates' oral cavity, were collected by KUH medical staff and stored at -80 °C until analysis. The ethical permission was granted in 2011 by the Research Ethics Committee of Hospital District of Central Finland, in Jyväskylä (18U/2011). The KuBiCo dataset represents a good cross-section of Finnish pregnant women when compared to the official national statistics.