About 50 years ago, over 15,000 families in the Kaiser
Permanente Health Plan joined the Child Health and Development
Studies, a landmark study of pregnancy and child development.
Today, families continue to participate in the CHDS, allowing
scientists to discover how disease starts even before birth -
not just by genes, but also through social, personal, and
environmental surroundings. Our goal is to learn enough to
prevent diseases before they happen, including widespread health
conditions like obesity, diabetes, asthma, heart disease,
cancer, learning problems and mental illness. Learn more. Breast
cancer and the environment: Women's exposures early in life
could unlock mysteries. Read more.