MotherToBaby Launches Unique ‘Text Counseling’ for Reliable Info About Exposure Risks to Baby

BRENTWOOD, TN – As the world prepares to recognize Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Day on September 9th, MotherToBaby, a service of the international non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), launches a way for expectant moms to have free expert information about the risks of alcohol and other exposures to baby at their fingertips – via text.

“The risks to baby of being exposed to things like alcohol, drugs or medications during a woman’s pregnancy or breastfeeding can really vary depending on mom’s metabolism, timing of the exposure, and whole host of other factors,” said Lori Wolfe, MS, a certified genetic counselor and director of MotherToBaby’s North Texas affiliate. “Mom really needs the latest information tailored to her particular circumstance in order to make informed decisions, along with her health care provider, about her and baby’s health. We’re now offering that research-based info in the most convenient way possible,” she added.

Expecting moms will simply need to text their questions in English or Spanish to 855-999-3525 to be connected to a bilingual specialist in the field of teratology – the study of exposures that cause birth defects. Standard text messaging rates may apply depending on an individual’s phone plan. Those who do use the new texting service are encouraged to check with their carrier first.

“When someone goes searching the internet, it can be a scary place that often highlights worst-case scenarios only,” explained Al Romeo, RN, PhD and teratogen information specialist at MotherToBaby’s Utah affiliate. “We’re not the internet. We’re registered nurses, genetic counselors and teratogen information specialists on the other end of your cell phone answering texts with the most up-to-date evidence you often can’t find online.”

MotherToBaby, which consists of 14 services housed at universities, hospitals and government institutions across the country, provides free, evidence-based, personalized risk assessments, education and counseling regarding the effects of exposures like prescription and over-the-counter drugs, alcohol, smoking, illicit substances, vaccines, beauty products, herbal supplements, chemicals and more during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. In addition to the new text counseling component, the public can be connected with a bilingual MotherToBaby expert by calling toll-free 1-866-626-6847. The MotherToBaby website also houses a library of fact sheets located at www.MotherToBaby.org.

More than 100,000 women and their health care providers seek information about birth defects prevention from MotherToBaby every year. MotherToBaby has been able to launch new outreach efforts to reach underserved populations, including new communication technologies, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

About FASD Awareness Day

FASD Awareness Day has been recognized on the ninth day of the ninth month since 1999 as a reminder for women to abstain from drinking alcohol during the nine months of pregnancy. As many as 1 out of every 100 babies are estimated to be affected by prenatal alcohol exposure, which can result in a range of neurobehavioral disabilities. FASD awareness events also traditionally take place across the nation all month long each September.

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Media Contact: Nicole Chavez, 619-368-3259, nchavez@MotherToBaby.org. Interviews in Spanish can also be arranged.

Free, personalized, and confidential exposure information services

Please use this form to email a MotherToBaby expert. Our information specialists can help answer your questions or concerns about exposures (like a medication, vaccine, chemical, or health condition) during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Our information specialists are available for consultation from Monday through Friday from 8 am – 7 pm ET. If it is after-hours, please expect a reply by the next business day. We look forward to hearing from you!

You can also reach us

Call | 866.626.6847 | Toll-free
Text | 855.999.3525 | Standard messaging rates may apply
Chat | Click the Live Chat window in the bottom corner of your screen

NOTE. MotherToBaby counseling services are available only for residents of the United States and its territories. For pregnancy and breastfeeding exposure information services that are available in other regions of the world, please visit: https://mothertobaby.org/international/. If you experience any issues using our Email An Expert form (e.g., a zip code error), please notify us by sending an email to ContactUs@mothertobaby.org. In that event, you can reach one of our experts via the following alternative methods. Please use our alternative forms, if you are a resident of the United States, the U.S. territories, or Canada and would like to join a pregnancy study or refer a patient to a study.

Exposure Information Service: Ask Our Experts

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Find an Affiliate

The MotherToBaby network consists of 11 affiliates housed at acclaimed universities and hospitals across the United States and Canada. We encourage you to find your affiliate and to connect with the team that is working to reduce the chance of preventable birth defects in your community.

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Administrative, Media, Partnership, and Membership Inquiries

For media and partnership inquiries, please contact Nicole Chavez:

Phone | 619.368.3259
Email | nchavez@mothertobaby.org

For research sponsorship or trade show exhibition inquiries, please contact MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies:

Phone | 877.311.8972
Email | MotherToBaby@health.ucsd.edu

For international organizations dedicated to birth defects prevention, please visit our International page.

When Your Bundle of Joy Comes with a Bundle of Questions – We’re Your Experts

MotherToBaby is the nation’s most trusted source of evidence-based information on medications and other exposures during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. MotherToBaby Fact Sheets summarize all the available scientific information to determine whether or not parents and their developing babies are at risk because of an exposure. We offer over 300 Fact Sheets on a wide variety of exposure topics that are available to the public 24/7 in English and Spanish. Our Fact Sheets cover many common pregnancy and breastfeeding exposures that a woman may experience, including prescription and over-the-counter medications, recreational substances, cosmetic treatments, maternal health conditions, infections, vaccines, chemicals, and workplace exposures.

Our Fact Sheets are not the only way that MotherToBaby provides information about the benefits or risks of exposures that a woman who is pregnant or breastfeeding may encounter. Our experts also provide personalized information by live chat, text, phone, and email at no-cost to to residents of the United States and its territories. If our database of Fact Sheets does not include the exposure that you are interested in or if you have additional questions about the exposure, please don’t hesitate to contact our information specialists.

Everyone should have access to accurate information to make the best health decisions for themselves and their family.

While our experts are steeped in scientific backgrounds, we focus on communicating information about pregnancy and breastfeeding exposures in an easy to read format through multiple channels, including The MotherToBaby Podcast and our Baby Blog. You can listen to The MotherToBaby Podcast to hear from host, MotherToBaby specialist, and mom-of-four, Chris Stallman, as she takes listeners’ questions on exposures and engages guest experts to address what’s okay and what’s not during pregnancy and breastfeeding. You can also read our Baby Blogs, which provide helpful information on some of today’s most pressing exposure topics.

Our team knows so much about pregnancy and breastfeeding exposures because we are also top researchers in the field of birth defects prevention and medication use in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Our MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies are observational research studies that aim to answer questions about whether a person’s health conditions and treatments affect their pregnancy. Our research has been instrumental in identifying previously unrecognized exposures that can be harmful to pregnancy, as well as ruling out substantial risk for other medications and vaccines. MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies provides study opportunities to residents of the United States and Canada. The information yielded by our research gets included on medication labels and can be used by the public and their health professionals to make treatment decisions during pregnancy.

Browse below to find our most popular exposure topics and to access related fact sheets, blogs, podcasts, ongoing observational MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies, and more. Check back frequently as we are constantly adding new resources and updating existing information!

Explore Our Most Popular Topics

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline Provides 24/7 Support Before, During, and After Pregnancy

BRENTWOOD, TN – MotherToBaby, a no-cost service of the non-profit Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS) that educates the public about exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding, proudly announces a new partnership to further support maternal mental health with the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline (NMMHH).

NMMHH provides perinatal mental health support through their toll-free phone line, 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262). The hotline was established in 2022 on Mother’s Day, during May’s Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month. Over the course of the first year of operation, the hotline reports that the top reasons people contacted its service included depression, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, issues related to pregnancy, and relationship conflict. “From our vantage point, the data resonates as the day-to-day experiences individuals have before, during and after pregnancy,” explained Tiffany J. Williams, project director for NMMHH. “We know that early intervention, trauma-informed support, and resources/referrals establish individuals for continued success in their maternal mental health journeys – this is why it is imperative to prioritize seeking support and professional help,” she added.  

MotherToBaby has become the leader in birth defects research, and has been available to the public for more than 30 years. During that time, MotherToBaby specialists have answered questions from the public about medications, vaccines, beauty products, herbal supplements, workplace exposures and much more during pregnancy and breastfeeding via its helpline 866-626-6847, text line 855-999-3525, email and live chat on MotherToBaby.org.

MotherToBaby and NMMHH have partnered by establishing a bidirectional referral and warm transfer process specifically to address the growing demand for perinatal mental health support. “It’s a win-win for those we serve,” said Lorrie Harris-Sagaribay, MPH, a bilingual teratogen information specialist and the OTIS/MotherToBaby President-Elect. “Regardless of whether a person reaches out first to MotherToBaby about specific medications for mental health, or to NMMHH about emotional support for mental health, they can be assured of greater access to personalized information from highly trained experts from both services, free of charge.”

Both NMMHH and MotherToBaby services are available in English and in Spanish. To learn more about NMMHH, please visit https://mchb.hrsa.gov/national-maternal-mental-health-hotline.  To learn more about MotherToBaby and browse its library of fact sheets, blogs and podcasts, please visit www.MotherToBaby.org.

MotherToBaby is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $6,000,000 with zero percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents of this release are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. To learn more about MotherToBaby and OTIS, please visit www.MotherToBaby.org.  

Media Contact: Nicole Chavez, 619-368-3259, nchavez@mothertobaby.org