C-GULL Summer Picnic

Parents and children taking part in the groundbreaking Children Growing Up in Liverpool (C-GULL) study came together for a very special summer picnic.

The babies and their mums and dads enjoyed an afternoon of fun at The Bluecoat in Liverpool as a special thank you for being part of C-GULL.

Jo Jingles Liverpool led the tots and their parents through a special play session and families were asked to share their hopes for future generations with a special wishing tree in the secret garden.

The picnic was also a chance for parents to meet up with members of the study team and get to know other mums and dads who are part of the project.

C-GULL will follow the lives of 10,000 babies born in Liverpool, from early pregnancy through childhood and beyond, to help transform health outcomes in the city.

The study is a partnership between the University of Liverpool, Wellcome, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Liverpool City Council, and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

It is the first large-scale birth cohort study of its kind in the region, and it has the potential to make a significant impact on our understanding of complex health issues.

Dr Andrew Sharp, Senior Lecturer at The University of Liverpool and consultant obstetrician at Liverpool Women’s, joined other members of the study team at the event.

He said: “It was a pleasure to be at the party and meet the mums, dads and babies who are part of C-GULL. We are so grateful to them for giving up their time to take part.

“C-GULL is so important for a city like Liverpool because it will give us a better understanding of the challenges people here face and help us understand more about the link between complex health issues, pregnancy and early childhood.”

Those taking part in the study can be involved as little or as much as they want. This can vary from basic data from healthcare records being included, right through to providing samples of hair, breast milk and mum and baby’s poo. Participants can receive vouchers up to a value of £100 for taking part and providing samples of mum’s poo, baby's poo or breast milk.

Researchers will use the samples to extract vital information that will help provide an insight into the health of mums to be, parents and babies in Liverpool. That in turn will enable them to form a body of evidence to answer questions around health in the city now and in the future.

Carly Williams, Lead Research Midwife for the study, joined colleagues in spending the afternoon with the families.

She said: “It was lovely to catch up with so many of our C-GULL parents and babies.

“We are so grateful to them for being part of the study and helping us discover more about the health of our local population and improving the chances of our children now and in the future.”

If you would like to be part of C-GULL and help the efforts to reverse the inequalities of health in Liverpool you can find out more here.

The study is open to anyone who is aged 16 and over, pregnant and receiving care at Liverpool women’s Hospital. The team want to involve all families from different ethnic, cultural, social and family backgrounds so that they can understand how to improve the health and wellbeing of all children in the Liverpool City Region.

(Image courtesy of Gareth Jones)