The NICHD has an active and wide-ranging research portfolio in women’s health, including the practices of obstetrics and gynecology, which help manage the unique health care needs of women. Since it was founded in 1962, the NICHD has been committed to understanding all the different facets of pregnancy and birth to help mothers and their infants stay healthy. NICHD-supported research also develops and evaluates different ways of preventing and treating problems related to pregnancy and birth.