Healthcare Professionals FAQs

What is MotherToBaby?

MotherToBaby is a service of the non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), a professional scientific society made up of world-renowned birth defects experts. MotherToBaby is dedicated to providing no-cost evidence-based information to mothers, health care professionals, and the general public about medications and other exposures during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. We are also dedicated to advancing knowledge about the impact of medication and vaccine exposures during pregnancy through our rigorously designed observational MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies.

OTIS and its information service, MotherToBaby, are suggested resources by many agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Women’s Health. More than 100,000 people and their health providers seek information about birth defects prevention from OTIS and MotherToBaby every year.

What information can MotherToBaby provide me or my patients about medications, vaccines, and other exposures during pregnancy?

Evidence-based Teratogen Information: MotherToBaby provides up-to-date, evidence-based information about the risks of medications, chemicals, herbal products, substances of use, maternal health conditions, occupational exposures, and much more during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Our information services are available at no-cost to you and your patient, and can be accessed by phone, text, email, and chat.

Patient Education Materials: The experts at MotherToBaby have created fact sheets that rely on current medical and scientific literature to answer frequently asked questions about exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding. MotherToBaby Fact Sheets are available in both English and Spanish and can be downloaded at no cost.

Literature for Your Office: MotherToBaby offers FREE brochures, patient referral cards and tear pads, and other materials for your office, as well as materials that you can share with your colleagues. These materials can be viewed and orders can be placed using our online form.

What are MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies?

MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies are conducted by OTIS and performed at the University of California San Diego under the leadership of renowned perinatal epidemiologist Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH. The studies focus on evaluating the safety (or risk) in pregnancy of medications used to treat a variety of medical conditions, as well as the safety (or risk) of vaccines in pregnancy. All of our studies are strictly observational; patients do not make any changes to their healthcare regimens unless you as their provider direct them to do so.

As a healthcare provider who treats patients of reproductive age, you may be as frustrated as we are by the lack of data regarding the effects of many medications and vaccines on pregnancy outcomes. Our rigorously designed studies aim to provide this much-needed information, and they rely on your patient referrals to do so.

What studies is MotherToBaby currently conducting?

We are currently conducting studies on the following:

• COVID-19
• Inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions & medications used to treat:
  • Ankylosing Spondylitis
  • Atopic dermatitis
  • Crohn’s Disease
  • Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Psoriasis
  • Psoriatic Arthritis
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Ulcerative Colitis
• Asthma and Asthma Medications
• Pertussis (Tdap) Vaccine

In addition to enrolling people who are pregnant who have the above medical conditions or vaccine exposures, we are also looking for healthy people who are pregnant or people who are pregnant and have not received the vaccines listed above to serve as controls for our studies.

What will I be required to do?

You can help support our efforts by referring your patients to our studies. People self-enroll, so after you refer a patient, nothing further is required from you.

Will study participation interfere with my ability to treat my patient?

No. All of our studies are strictly observational; patients do not make any changes to their healthcare regimens unless you as their provider direct them to do so.

The lack of data regarding the effects of medications on pregnancy outcomes is troubling. We are desperately trying to fill these information gaps; however, we cannot obtain the necessary data without your help. Consider us a partner so we can help provide you the critical information that you need to counsel your patients when they become pregnant.

What are the benefits of referring my patient to a MotherToBaby Pregnancy Study?

• Trust that you are referring your patients to take part in important and non-invasive research on the safety of medications and/or vaccines during pregnancy
• Confidence that you are receiving evidence-based information that results from rigorously designed studies run by a team of experts in the field of teratology
• Your referral not only contributes to the advancement of the field of teratology, it also helps provide much-needed information about medication and/or vaccine exposures in pregnancy to people who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding and healthcare providers alike, allowing for improved healthcare decision-making.

How can I refer a patient to a MotherToBaby Pregnancy Study?

• Use our secure online referral form.
• Call our Pregnancy Studies team toll-free at 877.311.8972 to provide us with the patient’s name and phone number.
• Invite your patient to sign-up online or give them our toll-free number and ask them to call us: 877.311.8972.