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The National Children's Study was authorized by Congress in the Children's Health Act of 2000. In addition to the NICHD, other members of the consortium carrying out the study are the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

When it is fully operational, the National Children's Study is expected to have roughly 40 study centers recruiting volunteers from 105 designated study locations throughout the United States. The study locations are counties and clusters of counties chosen by National Children's Study researchers to be representative of children in the United States.

Of 7 initial, or Vanguard, study centers, two will be the first to recruit. This week, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will begin recruiting study volunteers from Duplin County, North Carolina. The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York will recruit volunteers from the New York City Borough of Queens.

The centers will hold presentations and other community awareness activities in their respective locations to inform prospective volunteers. Some families in those areas will receive letters introducing the study, explained Peter Scheidt, M.D., M.P.H., Director, National Children's Study. Prenatal care providers and clinics in the study locations will also inform women about the study.

In April of 2009, the remaining five Vanguard centers will also begin recruiting and enrolling women to participate in the study. At the end of 18 months, each center is expected to have recruited a total of approximately 375 volunteers.

A listing of the seven Vanguard center locations is available on the National Children's Study Web site at