About

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have joined together to support a National Institutes of Health (NIH) program called Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO).  This large, observational child health research study began in 2016 to try to answer big questions about how influences in early human development, even before birth, affect us throughout our lives and across generations.  The ECHO program is focused on five areas of children’s health: pregnancy and birth, breathing, body weight, brain development, and well-being.  By enrolling 2500 pregnant individuals and their children from diverse backgrounds (racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically), the Penn-CHOP research team will help contribute to the understanding and enhancement of children for generations to come.