Mother-infant linked UK electronic birth cohorts representing 17.5 million births harmonised to the OMOP common data model

Abstract We describe the harmonisation of five UK electronic birth cohorts to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model, creating a large-scale, standardised resource for maternal and child health research. The Mother and Infant Research Data Analysis (MIREDA) partnership developed and implemented reproducible guidelines for mapping maternal–infant relationships and identifying pregnancy episodes within routinely collected healthcare data. Cohorts from England, Scotland, and Wales were transformed despite substantial heterogeneity in data structure, coding systems, and variable definitions. The resulting harmonised resource preserves each cohort as an independent dataset while enabling federated analyses to be conducted across sites without the need to share individual-level data. Collectively, the cohorts capture over 17.5 million live births, providing sufficient scale to investigate rare exposures and outcomes, support trial emulation, and evaluate population-level policy impacts across the UK. This article details the transformation pipeline and provides reusable methods to support extension to additional cohorts and networks. The harmonised datasets enable interoperable, reproducible research and facilitate cross-national comparative studies in maternal and child health.