NIH grants $46 million for placental health research

The Human Placenta Project, an initiative aimed at further understanding of the placenta, will receive $46 million of research awards from the NIH, according to a press release.

“People usually take the placenta for granted. But when it doesn’t work the way it should, it can put the entire pregnancy at risk — along with the health of mother and fetus,” Catherine Spong, MD, deputy director of NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, said in the release.

Nineteen separate projects, focusing on technology development and testing for placental function, will receive funding. The various projects will investigate noninvasive methods for placental monitoring throughout pregnancy.

Additionally, environmental factors that may impact placental health will be researched.

According to the release, the ultimate goal of the project will be to improve overall pregnancy outcomes and health throughout the lifespan.

“As essential as it is, there’s still so much we don’t know about the placenta. The good news is that science has advanced to such a degree that we have a better opportunity than ever before to learn how the placenta works. That knowledge may one day help improve clinical care,” Spong said in the release.