Data resource profile : the Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal Databank (AMND)

The Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal Databank (AMND) was initiated in the department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Aberdeen, in 1950, by the late Professor Sir Dugald Baird, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council’s (MRC’s) Medical Sociology Unit. It was originally set up as a resource for the study of the physiology, pathology and sociology of pregnancy, but the usefulness of the AMND has extended significantly beyond this through linkage with other health and social care records as well as intergenerational and family linkages. Intrauterine exposures can permanently alter physiology and metabolism, leading to higher risk of developing some diseases in adulthood as suggested by the Barker Hypothesis. 1 The AMND is an invaluable resource for life-course epidemiology, especially since it is one of the earliest and most comprehensive obstetric databases. From the year 1950 to the present, this unique database has been recording all the obstetric and fertility-related events occurring in women residing in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. The data were initially held on punched cards, computerized in the 1970s. Subsequently, in 1986, it was redeveloped onto a relational database known as Scientific Information Retrieval (SIR). The database was re-platformed in 2007 and is now held in a Microsoft SQL server database with an Access Front End. Databank-related personnel are core funded by the University of Aberdeen, and additional funding from funded projects are used to maintain and enhance the databank