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Preterm birth – when a child is born before 37 weeks – is the single biggest cause of death and disability among newborn babies and is a leading cause of impaired brain development in childhood.

There are 400 families taking part in the study – 300 of them with preterm babies, the rest full-term births.

"There was just a moment when I thought about all the mums that had been in preterm labour and all the babies born premature that had been in studies in the past and everything they had discovered to give my child the best chance at life," she says.

"My own background is in science and I know how important these studies are, and to me it made sense. Why shouldn't I include my child to help give a future preterm baby the best chance at life?"

Withdrawing “cold turkey” from opioids while pregnant increases the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth.