Achievements in preventing morbidity and mortality by researchers of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

In the 20 years since its creation, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has become a world leader in promoting research on fertility, high-risk pregnancy, care of newborns, nutrition, learning disorders, mental retardation, development of better contraceptives, and factors that influence family planning. NICHD also supports basic research that sheds light on normal processes in human development.This research has yielded impressive dividends. Improvement in the treatment of premature infants has contributed to a 22 percent decline in infant mortality in the United States between 1976 and 1980. Between 1962 and 1980, the maternal death rate from pregnancy and childbirth dropped 80 percent, owing largely to NICHD-supported research that has led to improved management of a number of conditions that are life-threatening to pregnant women.NICHD-supported research has led to the development of screening tests and treatments for certain metabolic disorders that cause mental retardation. Grantees of the Institute have also discovered a chromosomal disorder known to be a cause of mental retardation in men and have made research advances leading to better home care and a fuller role in community life for persons with Down's syndrome.Other NICHD studies seek to improve family planning methods and to find safer, more effective contraceptives. A promising development in this area is a class of synthetic brain hormones that could provide a new type of birth control pill for women and the first successful chemical contraceptive for men.