ABSTRACT

Plans for the Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP) were initiated in 1950 at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness (NINDB). The goal was to investigate the relationships between perinatal complications and abnormal outcomes of pregnancy. The interest of obstetricians in preventing perinatal mortality and improving neonatal well-being had increased as problems in maternal mortality and morbidity were brought under control. Considerable evidence indicated that some infections during pregnancy had adverse effects upon the fetus. Coxsackie virus infections as a complication of pregnancy were reported as fatal to the fetus by causing myocarditis and encephalomyelitis. In the fall of 1960, the Perinatal Research Branch was established to combine the capabilities required to direct and coordinate the CPP and, at the same time, to explore leads emanating from the study. An infectious diseases laboratory and a pathology laboratory were also part of the Perinatal Research Branch.