The Born in Bradford project hit a new milestone on June 2, 2011, when Jacob Joseph Robinson was born.

Baby Jacob weighed 9lbs 13ozs and is the final addition to the Born in Bradford (BiB) community, taking the total number of BiB babies to around 14,000, which includes 170 sets of twins and three sets of triplets.

Jacob may be the last child to join the project but is the first child for proud parents, Nicola and Duncan Robinson.  Nicola and Duncan have only been in Bradford for four years but are very excited to be living here and to be involved in this unique study.

Nicola had no hesitation in agreeing to join the project when asked. She was only too pleased to join a study that uses the information given by parents to help to improve the health of babies and children in the future. Like every other mum, Nicola’s wish for Jacob is for a happy and healthy future.

Getting all the families recruited into the Born in Bradford programme has been a big job, the team at the Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) Maternity Unit have worked hard to make sure this is one of the biggest studies of its kind in the world.

Their job has been made easier by the support and enthusiasm BiB has had from mums-to-be who, like Nicola, want to do all they can to help improve babies health.

Mr Derek Tuffnell, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the BRI’s Maternity Unit, said: ‘It’s really exciting that we now have such a large number of participants in the study.

"We can now start to use the data we have gathered and the follow up of the mothers and children to consider the causes and outcomes of health problems.

"I am particularly interested in finding out the impact that having diabetes in pregnancy has on women and their babies, both in the short and in the long term and  also in identifying  the reasons for differences in the size of babies at birth and the impact that has over time."

Professor Neil Small of Bradford University’s School of Health Research said: "Even though we are not recruiting any new people to Born in Bradford we will continue to collect new information about the families in the study.

"Researchers, both here and around the country, are working hard to analyse all the information given by the mums and dads and all the details collected about their babies. As time passes there will be many more studies looking at how the BiB babies are getting on.

"We will rely on the continuing support from families who have been generous with their time and willing to share their experiences and answer our questions. They are vital to a study that will follow up our BiB babies through their childhood and, in so doing, learn things that will help improve health in the city and beyond."

The Robinson family are now looking forward to meeting lots of other BiB families when they attend this year’s Teddy Bear’s Picnic on July 15 in Lister Park from 11.30am to 2.00pm.