Blast Theory are participating in an interdisciplinary research project called RECENTRE, which is all about understanding what it is like to go through an infection outbreak when you are pregnant, breastfeeding or caring for babies.

Outbreaks, sometimes called epidemics (when they affect several countries) or pandemics (when they spread around the world, like COVID), can bring unique challenges for people in these groups. But too often they are left out of research.

That means their needs and experiences aren’t always considered when plans are made for future pandemics.

RECENTRE aims to develop new proposals to tackle this challenge. The project is led Dr Shema Tariq and Dr Marthe Le Prevost. Shema is a researcher and medical doctor who specialises in women’s health, and Marthe is a researcher and children’s nurse who specialises in infections. The RECENTRE team brings together a wide range of people, including doctors and nurses, researchers on a wide range of topics, staff from Tommy’s, (the UK’s leading charity for research in pregnancy), and most importantly, pregnant people and parents of babies.

RECENTRE are looking for members of the public who have experience of pregnancy in the last 5 years (since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic), or who have a child aged under 5, to get involved in shaping this project.

Find out more about the paid opportunity here.