For more than 30 years, the Raine Study has made life-changing discoveries as one of the world’s largest and most successful research studies of pregnancy, childhood and adulthood.
John Newnham (1993). Credit: The Raine Study
Since 1989, the Raine Study has followed more than 2000 WA children, their parents, and now their own children to collect health and lifestyle data. This data has contributed to more than 600 research findings that have influenced the world’s understanding of the connections between early life experiences and later health outcomes.
For 32-year-old William Aitken, the Raine Study has always been a part of his life, with his mother Amanda recruited to participate in early pregnancy.
William Aitken, Generation 2 participant of the Raine Study. Credit: Supplied by family
William has seen the impact of the Raine Study and the groundbreaking research it enables on child health outcomes, from confirming the safety and setting the standard schedule for ultrasounds for pregnant women and babies to identifying the genes responsible for some of the most common childhood illnesses, such as asthma.
Now a father of two, William is eager for his children to participate in the Raine Study and help build better, brighter and healthier futures for WA children and families.
William says: “I am very proud to say I’m a Raine Study participant, knowing that the study drives so many discoveries to improve worldwide health and wellbeing. I’m thrilled for my children to have the same opportunity to be part of something that makes a difference and that they can proudly tell their own kids about one day.”
The Raine Study is now a truly multigenerational study, with funding from Telethon to help researchers explore long-term health outcomes across three generations and access to complete lifetime health data.