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2019 Rio Grande
Birth Cohort

We follow a generation to understand how health, family relationships and context change over the course of life.

Rio Grande, Brazil · since 2019

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2,313 perinatal interviews in 2019
2019 → today longitudinal follow-up
6 years children's age at the current follow-up

Why follow a generation?

"Health changes over time. The conditions in which a child is born, grows and lives leave marks that do not always show up in a single snapshot."

By following mothers, children and families over the years, we can better understand these trajectories — and how events such as the pandemic, climate disasters and changes in family relationships enter that story.

The 2019 Rio Grande Cohort was created to follow this story from birth, in Rio Grande, in southern Brazil.

What we want to understand

Mental health

How the mental health of mothers and children changes over time, and which contexts shape these trajectories.

Across generations

How experiences, family relationships and parenting connect mothers and children over time.

Context

How social conditions, the pandemic and climate disasters enter the health trajectories of real families.

New ways of observing

How data, records and new technologies can broaden our understanding of everyday life and health.

Timeline

2019

Birth

2,313 mothers interviewed in the maternity wards of Rio Grande. Data on pregnancy, childbirth, maternal health and living conditions.

2020

Pandemic

Follow-up adapted to a remote format. Two waves on mental health, family relationships and experiences during COVID-19.

2021–22

New follow-ups

Continued follow-up, with more questions on child mental health and development.

2023–24

Post-COVID

Greater emphasis on child mental health and development, with the children already in preschool.

2025 →

Age 6 and climate disasters

A new follow-up to study mental health, parenting and the effects of climate disasters on the families we follow.

Now

Camera study

Fieldwork under way: with wearable cameras, mothers and children record a moment of play, so that interactions can be studied from each one’s point of view. Recordings only happen with the families’ specific permission.

First-person vision & AI

What the Cohort has shown us

Each article tells part of the story. Here we bring together the main findings in plain language, and what they help us understand about mothers, children and families in Rio Grande.

Start here · Reference article

How the 2019 Rio Grande Cohort was built

The 2019 Rio Grande birth cohort: profile of a Brazilian 5-year study on mental health conditions

Rafaela Costa Martins et al.

Epidemiology and Health · 2025

About this article

Describes how the Cohort was built, who we follow, what was measured and how the follow-ups evolved over the first five years.

Why it matters

It is the entry point for understanding the study design and the value of following the same families over time.

Read the article ↗

Mental health and everyday life

How crises, worries and aspects of everyday life relate to mothers' mental health.

Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia · 2026

Alcohol and mental health during the pandemic

Alcohol consumption, mental health, and the moderating role of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic in southern Brazil

Francine Costa et al.

What we found

5% of mothers reported drinking more alcohol during the pandemic; in this group, depression and anxiety scores were higher.

Why it matters

This does not show that alcohol caused these symptoms, but it indicates that changes in drinking can accompany periods of greater psychological distress.

Read the article ↗

Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia · 2025

How isolation changed mothers' habits

Changes in habits among mothers during the period of social isolation due to COVID-19 in the municipality of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Jefferson Sales da Silva et al.

What we found

During isolation, 51.9% of mothers reported less physical activity and 58.1% said they had increased the amount of food they ate.

Why it matters

Public health crises also transform eating routines, physical activity and other habits that are part of everyday health.

Read the article ↗

Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry · 2023

Fears about their children and maternal mental health

The association between maternal fears about their infant/toddler during the COVID-19 pandemic and depression and anxiety: a birth cohort study

Raquel Wermann Foschiera et al.

What we found

Concern about their children's future and fear of passing COVID-19 on to them were associated with higher trajectories of maternal depression and anxiety.

Why it matters

Part of mothers' distress during the pandemic was linked precisely to concern for their children's safety and future.

Read the article ↗

Sleep Health · 2023

Sleep in pregnancy and symptoms of depression and anxiety

Sleep and its association with depressive and anxiety symptoms during the last weeks of pregnancy: A population-based study

Christian Loret de Mola et al.

What we found

Shorter sleep, difficulty falling asleep or getting up and a more evening-type sleep pattern were associated with more symptoms of depression and/or anxiety.

Why it matters

Looking at sleep can help recognise situations of greater emotional vulnerability in the perinatal period.

Read the article ↗

Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry · 2021

Mothers' mental health before and during the pandemic

Maternal mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2019 Rio Grande birth cohort

Christian Loret de Mola et al.

What we found

At the first assessment during the pandemic, 29.3% of mothers had probable depression, 25.9% probable generalised anxiety and 40.5% moderate or severe stress. Depression and anxiety increased compared with the period before the pandemic.

Why it matters

Having data from before the crisis made it possible to size the change in maternal mental health, instead of observing only an isolated snapshot of that moment.

Read the article ↗

Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry · 2021

Depression and anxiety throughout the pandemic

Increased depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazilian mothers: a longitudinal study

Christian Loret de Mola et al.

What we found

Among mothers assessed at all three time points, depression rose from 3.1% before the pandemic to 30.6% at the second assessment during the pandemic; anxiety rose from 9.6% to 28.8%.

Why it matters

Following the same women over time showed the scale of the change and illustrates the strength of a cohort for studying what happens during a crisis.

Read the article ↗

Family relationships and inequalities

How the distribution of care, housework and power within relationships connects to mothers' health and well-being.

Revista de Neuro-Psiquiatría · 2025

Division of household tasks and maternal anxiety

Gender division of housework and its association with generalized anxiety disorder in mothers in southern Brazil

Giane Marten Reinheimer et al.

What we found

A more even division of household tasks was associated with a lower prevalence of moderate or severe anxiety among mothers.

Why it matters

Mental health is also related to how housework and care are divided at home.

Read the article ↗

Violence Against Women · 2025

Unequal housework and intimate partner violence

Gender Division of Housework and Intimate Partner Violence Among Mothers of Toddlers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from the 2019 Rio Grande (Brazil) Birth Cohort

Christian Loret de Mola et al.

What we found

When the burden of housework fell more unequally on mothers, the odds of psychological, physical or sexual intimate partner violence were also higher.

Why it matters

The findings show that domestic inequality and violence can coexist within broader contexts of gender inequality.

Read the article ↗

Development, care and prevention

What we have learned about child development, prevention and new ways of supporting mothers and children.

Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health · 2025

Maternal mental health and child development

Trajectories of maternal depression, anxiety, stress, and child developmental milestones at 24 months

Clariana Vitória Ramos de Oliveira et al.

What we found

Children of mothers with higher trajectories of depressive symptoms showed more delays in language, cognition and motor development at 24 months. Anxiety trajectories were also associated with delays in some domains.

Why it matters

Maternal mental health and child development appear as connected trajectories, without this meaning that one alone determines the other.

Read the article ↗

Epidemiologia e Serviços de Saúde · 2024

What mothers knew about preventing sudden infant death

Knowledge about sudden infant death syndrome prevention among postpartum women in Southern Brazil, 2019: a cross-sectional survey

Anelise Medeiros Souto et al.

What we found

67.7% of mothers did not know the recommended position to reduce the risk of sudden infant death, and only 1.9% said they had received information on the topic during prenatal care.

Why it matters

The finding points to a concrete opportunity to reinforce safe-sleep guidance during prenatal care and after birth.

Read the article ↗

INQUIRY · 2021

Supporting mothers through WhatsApp: the TIES study

A WhatsApp-Based Intervention to Improve Maternal Social Support and Maternal-Child Health in Southern Brazil: The Text-Message Intervention to Enhance Social Support (TIES) Feasibility Study

Angela C. B. Trude et al.

What we found

A WhatsApp-moderated support group proved feasible and was well accepted by participants, although engagement declined over the weeks.

Why it matters

Digital tools can broaden the options for supporting mothers, but keeping people engaged over time remains a challenge. As a feasibility study, this work does not test the intervention's effectiveness.

Read the article ↗

Want to work with these data?

The Cohort is open to scientific collaborations. Researchers can propose analyses, questions and joint projects.

Requests are reviewed by the team to check feasibility and possible overlap with ongoing work.

Propose a collaboration
Request access / propose an analysis coorteriogrande2019@gmail.com
Contact the GPIS team chlmz@furg.br