On March 3, join MotherToBaby, March of Dimes and dozens of organizations around the world for a World Birth Defects Day Twitter Chat. Ask questions about birth defects, pregnancy health and more. Include the hashtag #WorldBDDay in every tweet to take part!

Join MotherToBaby and partner organizations around the world for a special World Birth Defects Day Facebook and Instagram Live Chat March 3 at 10a PT/1p ET.

How to participate: Follow @MotherToBaby on Facebook or @mothertobabyotis on Instagram (or both). You might get a notification from Facebook or Instagram that the MotherToBaby page you follow is going live at the live broadcast start time. Alternatively, just go to MotherToBaby’s profile on either Facebook or Instagram at the broadcast start time (10a PT/1p ET). You can also get a reminder for the live event by clicking “going” on the Facebook event created for it: https://www.facebook.com/events/213655426471361/

On Facebook, the live video should just be playing at the top of MotherToBaby’s page. On Instagram, you will see a small badge around the story circles at the top of the screen that says “live.” Tap to enter the live stream. The person streaming will know that you are tuning in.

With either platform, once you are watching the live stream, you can comment or ask questions, the same way you’d engage with a non-live post. MotherToBaby’s president, Christina Chambers, PhD will be joined by Drs. Kenneth Lyons Jones, MD and Miguel Del Campo, MD to answer questions in English and Spanish about birth defects.

We know pregnant women are concerned about the newly described coronavirus. MotherToBaby and the CDC are monitoring the situation and will educate people if there is new evidence about a danger from a coronavirus infection that would be specific to the unborn baby. You can find more information on your common questions about the coronavirus through our fact sheet at: https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/covid-19/. In the meantime, common strategies to avoid getting sick include thoroughly washing your hands and avoiding obviously ill people. Contact your healthcare provider if you feel ill and are concerned. If you develop a serious respiratory infection, it is much more likely to be Influenza (the flu) than coronavirus. We know that pregnant women have a harder time fighting off infections, like the flu, which can lead to complications for pregnant women and for babies. If you haven’t gotten your flu shot, do it now, for your own health and for the wellbeing of your baby. MotherToBaby has a fact sheet on the flu vaccine at: https://mothertobaby.org/fact-sheets/seasonal-influenza-the-flu-pregnancy/. To keep up with travel notifications and other news on the new coronavirus, go the CDC Coronavirus page at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html [cdc.gov].