Selected References: Ailes EC, et al, & The National Birth Defects Prevention Study. 2016. Association between antibiotic use among pregnant women with urinary tract infections in the first trimester and birth defects, National Birth Defects Prevention Study 1997 to 2011. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol; 106(11):940–949. Ansaldi Y, et al. 2023. Urinary tract infections in pregnancy. Clin Microbiol Infect; 29(10):1249–1253. Ben David S, et al. 1995. The safety of …
The Baby Blog
About Our Baby Blog
Every person wants to know what’s best for their baby, especially when it comes to knowing how to minimize exposure risks. Our relatable stories are packed with practical information from our rotating staff of MotherToBaby expert bloggers. Whatever topic you’re looking for, our blogs will provide you a great foundation to learn more.
St. John’s Wort
Selected References: Alzahrani MA, et al. 2023 Effect of St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum L.) on Male Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Narrative Review. Biomedicines. 11(10):2800. Barrett B, et al. 1999. Assessing the risks and benefits of herbal medicine: An overview of scientific evidence. Altern Ther Health Med 5(4):40-49. Clauson KA, et al. 2008. Clinically relevant safety issues associated with St. John's wort product labels. BMC Complement Altern Med; 8:42. Fetrow …
Promethazine (Phenergan®)
Selected References: Anderka M, et al. 2012. Medications used to treat nausea and vomiting of pregnancy and the risk of selected birth defects. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. Jan;94(1):22-30. Bartfai Z, et al. 2008. A population-based case-control teratologic study of promethazine use during pregnancy. Reprod Toxicol. 25:276-285. Corby DG, Shulman I. 1971. The effects of antenatal drug administration on aggregation of platelets of newborn infants. J Pediatr. 79:307-313. …
Lupus
Selected References: Abheiden CNH, et al. 2024. Systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with an increased frequency of spontaneous preterm births: systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 231(4):408-416.e21. Acevedo M, et al. 2017. Breastfeeding initiation, duration, and reasons for weaning in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Rheumatol Int, 37(7):1183-1186. Akbari A, et al. 2025. Recurrent pregnancy loss and fetal complete heart block as …
Lamotrigine (Lamictal®)
Selected References: Almgren M, et al. 2009. Population-based study of antiepileptic drug exposure in utero--influence on head circumference in newborns. Seizure, 18(10):672-5. Alvarez I, et al. 2025. Breastfed infants exposed to lamotrigine faced a low risk of toxic effects. Acta Paediatr. 114(2):346-354. doi:10.1111/apa.17432 American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 2017. Neural tube defects. Practice Bulletin No. 187. Obstet Gynecol 130(6):e279–e290. An K, Xu J, …
