J.W.B. Douglas

The National Child Development Study (NCDS) is a continuing, multi-disciplinary longitudinal study which follows the lives of 17,415 people born in England, Scotland and Wales from 17,205 women during the week of 3-9 March 1958. The results from this study helped reduce infant mortality and were instrumental in improving maternity services in the UK.

The origins of the NCDS can be found in the Perinatal Mortality Survey (PMS) which was then sponsored by the National Birthday Trust Fund and set up to collect information about the social and obstetric factors associated with stillbirth and death in early infancy.

The NCDS was first led by the paediatrician Neville Butler assisted by the National Birthday Trust Fund. The survey was initially planned as a one-off study to investigate the reasons for the relatively high rate of stillbirths (38.5 stillbirths per 1,000 births) in the UK compared to other developed countries. 98% of women (17,205) who gave birth in England, Scotland and Wales to 17,415 babies during the week of 3-9 March 1958 completed the survey. Records of birth deaths to 7,618 women and about 5,000 autopsy reports were also collected over the period of March-May 1958.

In 1963 the Plowden Committee which was investigating the education of primary children in the UK and the transition to secondary school, commissioned a follow-up report on the children from the NCDS. This follow-up survey was led by Mia Kellmer Pringle and attempts were made to trace all members of this birth generational cohort. The survey took place in 1965 and results were included in the Plowden report Children and their Primary Schools in 1967.

By 2016 the NCDS has been conducted in nine different sweeps to get information concerning the physical, educational and social development of the people from the initial survey: in 1965, 1969, 1974, 1981, 1991, 1999–2000, 2004, 2008 and 2014 . The following sweep was planned for 2018. Examples of topics which have been included are medical care, health, home environment, educational progress, parental involvement, family relationships, economic activity, income, training and housing. During the period 2002-2004, genetic information on participants was also obtained to examine the genetic effects on common traits and diseases.

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