Table 1. Schedule of assessments, data collection methods, sample type/domain and test/task.

Data collection point	Age	Data collection method	Sample type/domain	Test/task	Notes
1	Antenatal	Administrative/electronic health records and interview	Medical, demographic, SES	Ethnic background and language spoken at home; parents’ education and employment; family income; family structure, housing, neighbourhood quality, parents’ mental health, social network and support	All participants
				History and exposures: life events, prescribed medications, alcohol, smoking, substances, pregnancy complications
2	Birth	Administrative/electronic health records, questionnaire and tissue	Medical	Peripartum history and exposures, mother and infant	All participants
				Anthropometry
			Placenta	Structured histopathology rating and storage. mRNA levels of glucocorticoid-related genes	Collect and store
			Umbilical cord blood	(1) 2 mL umbilical cord blood; (2) dried blood spot for storage	All participants(1) Endogenous glucocorticoids and metabolites (glucocorticoid release); glucocorticoid receptor in cord blood leucocytes (glucocorticoid signalling). (2) Inflammatory markers and DNA (collect and store)
			Hair, infant	Overall glucocorticoid secretion	All participants
			Hair, maternal	Overall glucocorticoid secretion
			Saliva	Methylome	Term comparators
3	Neonatal	Tissue	Dried blood spot	Inflammatory markers and DNA	Collect and store at postnatal day 5, preterm subset.
		Tissue	Saliva	DNAm	Preterms at term equivalent age (38–44 weeks gestational age).
		Tissue	Hair, infant	Overall glucocorticoid secretion	Preterms at term equivalent age (38–44 weeks gestational age).
		Biosample	Faeces	Microbiome	Collect and store: stool between postnatal days 7–14 (cases and controls) and predischarge from neonatal intensive care and at 38–44 weeks (comparators).
		Administrative/electronic records and direct observation	Medical	Anthropometry	All participants
			Comorbidities and exposures	Comorbidities of preterm birth, medications, feed type and method; health status of control group.
			Parent IQ	National Adult Reading Test, second edition*
		MRI	Brain structure and connectivity	sMRI, dMRI.	MRI acquisition at 38–44 weeks. Morphometric similarity networks (chronological brain age), hierarchical complexity, magnetisation transfer imaging.
		Administrative/electronic records and questionnaire	Demographics and medical	Update perinatal history	All participants
				Edinburgh postnatal depression scale†	All participants
				Parenting daily hassles‡
				WHO Quality of Life§
				Adult temperament questionnaire- short (V.1.3)¶

^*Nelson HE, Wilson J⁷⁴ (1991) (), NFER-Nelson, Windsor, UK.

^†Cox et al., J.L., Holden, J.M., and Sagovsky,⁷⁵ R. 1987. Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry 150.

^‡Crnic K. A., Greenberg, M. T.⁷⁶(1990). Minor parenting stresses with young children. (5),

^§WHOQOL-BREF version.

^¶Evans, D.E.,Rothbart, M.K.⁷⁷(2007). Development of a model for adult temperament. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, .

DNAmDNA methylations-/d-MRI, structural/diffusion MRISES, socioeconomic status