An observational study in Pregnancy Related, Pregnancy Complications and Birth Defect, sponsored by Heartland Health Research Alliance. Recruiting at 4 sites in United States. Open to female participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-06-29.
Sponsored by Heartland Health Research Alliance · Observational
The Heartland Study is a prospective, observational study that will enroll up to 2,600 pregnant participants across the Heartland States in the U.S..
The objective of the Heartland Study is to address major knowledge gaps concerning the health effects of herbicides on maternal and infant health. The study is being conducted to evaluate the associations between environmental exposures to herbicides during and after pregnancy and reproductive health outcomes. The study is measuring multiple biomarkers of herbicide exposure among pregnant Midwesterners and their partners to evaluate associations with pregnancy and childbirth outcomes, epigenetic biomarkers of exposure, and child development.
During Phase 1 of the Study, newly pregnant mothers will be enrolled less than or equal to 20 weeks + 6 days gestation and followed through to the end of pregnancy. Prenatal urine and buccal (cheek) samples will be collected to measure urinary herbicide exposure levels and to identify herbicide induced epigenetic biomarkers. Pregnancy outcomes and fetal health will be documented and analyzed to further investigate potential effects of fetal exposure. Indirect measures such as food and beverage consumption, workplace and household related chemical exposures, substance use, residential proximity to agricultural fields, and socioeconomic factors will be captured from questionnaires.
221 studies on the registry are indexed under Abortion, Spontaneous; 44 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 2,600 is above the median of 201 across 98 observational studies indexed under Abortion, Spontaneous.
Browse Abortion, Spontaneous studies →This is the only study on the registry with Heartland Health Research Alliance as lead sponsor.
Compared within Abortion, Spontaneous, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Pregnancy Complications. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
Participants must live in one of the 13 Heartland states at the time of enrollment: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Pregnancy loss
Number of participants who experience a pregnancy loss
Time frame: Enrollment to birth
Preterm birth
Number of births that occur between gestational age 20 +0 and 36 +6
Time frame: Enrollment to gestational age 36 +6
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy
Number of participants diagnosed with a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy
Time frame: Enrollment to up to twelve weeks after delivery
Not enrolling at this site.
Plan to share: Undecided
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