Project milestone as baby Ambar takes her first bow

PROUD parents, mum Lisa Patel and dad Bahadur Singh are celebrating the arrival of baby Ambar Sodi.

Ambar was born at Bradford Royal Infirmary on February 3 weighing 6lb 7oz – and her arrival marks a significant milestone for the Born in Bradford (BiB) campaign, a research project that aims to improve the health of the city’s very youngest.

Ambar is the 10,000th BiB baby to be born since the project started signing up mums in March 2007.

The project aims to follow the children for as long as possible through childhood and adolescence into adulthood.

A range of projects which will equip Bradford researchers with vital information about childhood obesity; kidney disease, allergies and infections; sudden infant deaths, such as cot deaths, and many other conditions.

To mark the event, Ambar was captured on film by Bradford-born photographer Ian Beesley, BiB’s artist-in-residence.

“Our original target was to recruit 10,000 families,” said BiB programme manager Dr Pauline Raynor. “The response from parents has been so positive that we have decided to go on recruiting until the end of the year when we will have around 13,500 babies.

“The project has captured the support and imagination of the Bradford community – and recruitment rates remain very high at more than 80 per cent. We are grateful to the community for this endorsement of what we are hoping to achieve, for present and future generations.”

Last night, Ambar’s mother Lisa Patel, said she was glad her family could make a difference for other families in the city: “The project sounded so interesting when it was explained to me. I am glad to join in with something that will benefit my grandchildren.”