Press Releases

Stay Connected, Stay Current with MotherToBaby

If you’re looking for the latest news about exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding or if you’re looking for a MotherToBaby expert who can provide you with information for your news story, you’ve come to the right place! Read on for information about our quarterly e-newsletter, our latest press releases, and how members of the news media can connect with one of our experts.


Let’s Say in Touch!

MotherToBaby is dedicated to providing evidence-based information about medications and other exposures during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. Don’t miss a thing by signing up for our quarterly e-newsletter; we’ll keep you updated on the newest information and resources available!


Latest Press Releases

Here’s the latest news distributed by MotherToBaby including exposure findings, research opportunities, organization announcements, educational and professional development opportunities, and birth defects prevention campaigns.


Media Requests

MotherToBaby experts are available for news media interviews on many relevant issues related to pregnancy and breastfeeding exposures. From COVID-19 to the Zika virus, marijuana to mental health, alcohol to asthma, and so much more, our specialists have lent their expertise to news stories about the hottest topics that impact pregnant and breastfeeding women and their babies. Please see our Media Requests page for information on getting in touch with our experts for interviews, speaking engagements, and help with stories.


Press Releases

Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Questions.

MotherToBaby offers unparalleled resources for health professionals, including evidence-based patient education materials, no-cost teratogen information services, and convenient patient referrals into our observational pregnancy studies. Here are some of the questions health providers most frequently ask about us.

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.


Press Releases

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!

Immunizations & Vaccine-Preventable Illnesses 

What pregnant and breastfeeding parents need to know.

Antibiotics

Treating Infections while Pregnant or Breastfeeding.

ADD/ADHD

Get more info on treating attention-related disorders during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Alcohol

More harmful than cocaine, meth or heroin – why you should avoid alcohol if pregnant or breastfeeding.

Allergies

Pregnancy and breastfeeding information for allergy sufferers plagued with a stuffy nose, sneezing and itchy eyes.

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Spine pain? We’ve got info on AS and treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Anxiety

Feeling anxious about anxiety? Access resources for managing anxiety during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Asthma

Breathing for two – access info on asthma and its treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Cannabis

Marijuana, pot, whatever you call it – we’ve got info you need if pregnant or breastfeeding.

Colds & Flu

The 4-1-1 on sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, and fever during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Constipation

Getting relief from constipation should not be a strain – access info for women who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding.

Cosmetics

Get the latest information on cosmetics and treatments for hair, skin, nails & more.

COVID-19

Critical info on the novel coronavirus for people who are pregnant, planning to be, or breastfeeding.

Depression

You are not alone visit our resources for managing depression before, during, & after pregnancy.

Eczema

Access resources for the most common skin condition in pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Foods and Beverages 

Eating and drinking for two can raise a lot of questions – we’ve got your answers! 

High Cholesterol

At the heart of it all – get info for women who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding with high cholesterol.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Follow your gut – get info on IBD and its treatment while pregnant or breastfeeding.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

JIA may be diagnosed in the childhood years, but its impact can be felt in adulthood.

Lead

A heavy metal that can be found in common household objects can affect your developing baby.

Lupus

Nearly 9 out of every 10 people with lupus are women. Will it influence you or your baby’s health?

Mental Health

Managing a mental health condition before, during or after pregnancy? What you need to know.

Morning Sickness

Information on nausea and vomiting that you need to know when your bundle of joy is making you hurl.

Multiple Sclerosis

Important info and resources on MS and its treatment during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

Natural Disasters

When the unexpected happens, we have the critical information you need to know to safely make it through a natural disaster.

Opioids

In the face of a nationwide opioid epidemic, access our resources for both people who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding and health providers.

Psoriasis

Get comfy with the skin you’re in – explore our resources on psoriasis, pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Psoriatic Arthritis

Flare-up fears? We’ve got skin and joint disease info for pregnant and breastfeeding moms.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Swelling, stiffness, and pain from RA – could it impact pregnancy or breastfeeding?

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Talking openly about STIs, pregnancy, and breastfeeding.

Tetanus, Diphtheria, & Pertussis Vaccine 

Why Tdap is a vaccine moms-to-be won’t want to miss 

Preparing to hit the road, cruise, or fly the friendly skies when you’re pregnant or breastfeeding

Zika Virus

How can someone minimize their baby’s risk of exposure to the Zika virus through travel or from their partner?


Press Releases

Leadership

MotherToBaby is a service of the non-profit scientific society, the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS), and is governed by OTIS’ Board of Directors. Read more about the leadership of OTIS.

Meet The Team

The MotherToBaby team of information specialists can answer your questions about exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding, while our Pregnancy Studies team conducts the observational research studies to evaluate medication and vaccine safety. Meet the MotherToBaby Team below.

MotherToBaby Information Specialists

Alfred Romeo, BA, BSN, RN, PhD

Dr. Romeo works at the Utah Department of Health with MotherToBaby Utah’s Pregnancy Risk Line as an information specialist. His experiences include working as a nurse in newborn intensive care; teaching college health education classes; training medical homes in improving services for children with special health care needs; training young adults with disabilities in leadership and advocacy; and helping families learn about child development. He has served as OTIS Secretary and as Chair of various OTIS committees.

MotherToBaby Team - Alfred Romeo, BA, BSN, RN, PhD

Angela Messer, MS

Angela is an information specialist with MotherToBaby California. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology from Chapman University and her graduate degree from Kansas State University in academic advising/counseling. Angela has been with MotherToBaby since 2009, with experience in both research and counseling. She appreciates the opportunity to speak with people who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding and healthcare professionals regarding exposures and medications, and holds a special interest in stress and anxiety in pregnancy and breastfeeding.

MotherToBaby Team - Angela Messer, MS

Beth Conover, APRN, CGC

Beth is a genetic counselor and pediatric nurse practitioner. She established the Nebraska Teratogen Information Service in 1986, also known as MotherToBaby Nebraska. She was also a founding board member of OTIS.

In her clinical practice, Beth sees patients in General Genetics Clinic, Prenatal Clinic, and the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Clinic at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Beth has provided consultation to the FDA and CDC. Two of her recent publications are, “The Art and Science of Teratogen Risk Communication” and “Safety Concerns Regarding Binge Drinking in Pregnancy: A Review”.

MotherToBaby Team - Beth Conover, APRN, CGC

Bridget Maloney, MS, CGC

Bridget is a board-certified genetic counselor and teratology information specialist at MotherToBaby Arizona. In addition to providing exposure counseling by phone, email, and online chat, she is a member of the MotherToBaby Fact Sheet Team, where she creates MotherToBaby exposure fact sheets. She is also a clinical instructor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Arizona, where she educates health professionals and graduate-level students on clinical genetics and teratology. Bridget received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from the University of Arizona in 2024.

Brigitte Martin, B.Pharm., M.Sc.

Brigitte has worked as a perinatal pharmacist for over 20 years at CHU Sainte-Justine, a tertiary mother-and-child hospital in Montreal, Quebec. She divides her time between NICU and centre IMAGe, where she shares her expertise as a counselor and coordinator since 2003.

Over the years, she published numerous articles in professional journals and presented several conferences on drugs in pregnancy and breastfeeding. She is one of the co-editors of the book Grossesse et Allaitement: Guide thérapeutique (Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Therapeutic Guide); the 3rd edition is will be published in 2021-2022.

MotherToBaby Team - Brigitte Martin, B.Pharm., M.Sc.

Caroline Morin, B.Pharm., M.Sc.

Caroline has worked as aninformation specialist with Centre IMAGe (Montréal, Québec) since 2002. She also works as a clinical pharmacist in Obstetric and Gynecology at CHU Sainte-Justine, a mother and child university hospital center. She co-edited the 2nd edition of Grossesse et allaitement – guide thérapeutique (Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Therapeutic Guide), a book on pharmacotherapy published to support health care providers working with people who are pregnant and/or breastfeeding.

MotherToBaby Team - Caroline Morin, B.Pharm., M.Sc.

Chris Stallman, MS, CGC

Chris is a board-certified genetic counselor based in Tucson, Arizona. Her counseling experience includes pharmacogenetics as well as reproductive and cardiac genetics. She is the Program Coordinator and an information specialist at MotherToBaby Arizona, located at the University of Arizona. Chris is also Clinical Coordinator and Clinical Instructor for the University of Arizona Genetic Counseling Graduate Program, Clinical Instructor in Pharmacy Practice-Science, and the host of the MotherToBaby Podcast.

MotherToBaby Team - Chris Stallman, MS, CGC

Christianne Senechal, MS

Christianne Senechal is an information specialist with MotherToBaby Connecticut, where she has worked since 2022. She holds a Master of Science in Health Care Genetics and will graduate with a Master of Science in Genetics Counseling from the University of Connecticut in 2026. Christianne is passionate about providing accessible, evidence-based counseling on exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding to both the public and healthcare professionals, supporting patients in making informed decisions that are best for their health and their baby.

Claire Coles, PhD

Dr. Coles is Director of MotherToBaby Georgia and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Pediatrics at Emory University, where she is also Director of the Maternal Substance Abuse and Child Development Laboratory. Her expertise is in the developmental and behavioral effects of prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol and the interaction of these effects with the postnatal environment. She was among the first to describe the behavioral effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and to investigate the effects of cocaine exposure on child development.

MotherToBaby Team - Claire Coles, PhD

Ema Ferreira, B.Pharm, M.Sc., Pharm.D., FCSHP, FOPQ

Ema completed a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in pharmacy from Université de Montréal, a doctorate of pharmacy at the University of British Columbia, and a residency in perinatology at BC Women and Children’s Hospital and Long Beach Memorial Hospital. She has a joint position between CHU Ste-Justine and Faculty of Pharmacy where she is a full clinical professor teaching OB/GYN therapeutics. She is actively involved in patient care and research projects, andco-directed the publication of two editions of “Grossesse et allaitement: Guide thérapeutique” (Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Therapeutic Guide). A third edition will be published in 2021-2022.

MotherToBaby Team - Ema Ferreira, B.Pharm, M.Sc., Pharm.D., FCSHP, FOPQ

Jessie Poskochil, MGC, CGC

Jessie Poskochil is a board certified genetic counselor and assistant professor at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha, NE. Jessie earned her Master of Genetic Counseling (MGC) degree from UNMC in 2021. In her clinical practice, Jessie sees patients for a variety of hereditary cancer indications. She is a course instructor, clinical supervisor, and capstone committee member for students in the UNMC Genetic Counseling Education Program and enjoys co-instructing the Embryology and Teratology classes. As a teratogen information specialist for MotherToBaby Nebraska, Jessie provides counseling to clients and providers via chat, text, and phone. 

Josianne Malo, B.Pharm., M.Sc.

Josianne is a pharmacist who graduated from the University of Montreal with a master’s degree in advanced pharmacotherapy for hospital practice. She works at Centre IMAGe, a MotherToBaby information service located at CHU Sainte-Justine, a tertiary mother-child university hospital in Montreal. She practices pharmaceutical care in the neonatal intensive care unit. As an associate clinician, she supervises pharmacy students and residents during their hospital training. She is the author of several articles and book chapters on pharmacotherapy during pregnancy and lactation and contributes to the activities of the Centre IMAGe. She has been a member of OTIS since 2008.

MotherToBaby Team - Josianne Malo, B.Pharm., M.Sc.

Kate Mowrey, MS, CGC

Kate Mowrey is a genetic counselor and clinical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.  In addition to being an information specialist for MotherToBaby TexasTIPS, Kate assists in the LoneStar Leadership Education in Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) Program as well as the UT Tuberous Sclerosis Center of Excellence. Furthermore, her responsibilities include clinical coordination and providing genetic counseling to pediatric patient families in general genetics as well as neurology clinics. She is involved in teaching and supervising students for the University of Texas Genetic Counseling Training Program. Kate graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2014 with a BS in Human Biology, concentration in Genetics and Biotechnology and received her MS in Genetic Counseling from Genetic Counseling from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in May 2018.

Kirstie Perrotta, MPH

Kirstie Perrotta is an information specialist at MotherToBaby California, where she provides counseling by phone and chat. She received her Masters in Public Health (MPH) from the University of San Francisco, and has worked in the field of reproductive health for over 9 years. Kirstie currently serves as a member of the MotherToBaby Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), which provides leadership around our COVID-19 response. Her interests include vaccines, infectious disease, and mental health during pregnancy.

MotherToBaby Team - Kirstie Perrotta, MPH

Leah Sternberg, MPH, BSN, RN, CHES

Leah is the Program Coordinator for MotherToBaby Georgia. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Illinois Wesleyan University and is a registered nurse. Her nursing experience includes fertility medicine and primary care. She recently completed her Master of Public Health at Emory University with a specialization in behavioral, social, and health education sciences. Leah is a Certified Health Education Specialist. She has experience in providing sex and reproductive health education to children and adults. When she isn’t the Program Coordinator for MotherToBaby Georgia, Leah still volunteers as a public health nurse. Leah is passionate about having hard conversations about health, as well as health literacy, health integrity, and health empowerment.

Lori Wolfe, MS, CGC

Lori is a board certified genetic counselor and the Director of MotherToBaby North Texas, which is part of the Texas Teratogen Information Service (TIS). Lori began the Texas TIS in July of 1991. In addition to running the Texas TIS, Lori provides community workshops and education to both the public and to health care providers, and teaches at the University of North Texas. Lori is happily married to Doug, and is the mother of three wonderful children, two of whom are adopted.

MotherToBaby Team - Lori Wolfe, MS, CGC

Lorrie Harris Sagaribay, MPH, LGC

Lorrie Harris-Sagaribay is the Program Coordinator and Lead Information Specialist at MotherToBaby North Carolina. She provides exposure counseling in English and Spanish by phone, email, and online chat, as well as conducting outreach and providing professional education and guest lectures on teratology. She currently serves on the OTIS Board of Directors and co-chairs the MotherToBaby Emerging Issues Task Force. After serving with the Peace Corps in Honduras, Lorrie earned her Masters of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a concentration in maternal and child health. She enjoys helping people make informed decisions about medications and other exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

MotherToBaby Team - Lorrie Harris Sagaribay, MPH

Mara Gaudette, MS, CGC

Mara is a certified genetic counselor who for the past 16 years has been providing pregnancy and breastfeeding exposure information by phone and email. As an information specialist for MotherToBaby California, she now also provides information through the MotherToBaby online chat. Her prior professional experience includes working at a neuromuscular genetics lab, at a muscular dystrophy and ALS clinic, and at two prenatal genetic practices. Academically, she earned her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her master’s degree from Northwestern University.

MotherToBaby Team - Mara Gaudette, MS, CGC

Myla Ashfaq, MS, CGC

Myla is a certified genetic counselor and clinical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics at the University of Texas Medical School. In addition to being an information specialist for MotherToBaby TexasTIPS, she provides genetic counseling to families of pediatric patients at the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Houston. She is involved in facilitating courses and supervising students from the University of Texas Genetic Counseling Training Program. Myla graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a BA in Genetics and received her MS in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling from Stanford University.

MotherToBaby Team - Myla Ashfaq, MS, CGC

Nevena Krstić, MS, CGC

Nevena is a board certified genetic counselor and an assistant professor at the University of South Florida (USF), division of Maternal Fetal Medicine and serves as the Program and Research Coordinator at MotherToBaby Florida. In addition to providing counseling as an information specialist at MTB Florida and USF Exposures Clinic, she provides prenatal and preconception genetic counseling in various clinics across the Tampa Bay area. She provides both clinical supervision and coursework instruction for students form the USF Genetic Counseling Program. Nevena earned her MS in Genetic Counseling from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston in 2012.

MotherToBaby Team - Nevena Krstić, MS, CGC

Réka Müller, MSPH, CG

Réka is a board certified genetic counselor and clinical instructor at the University of South Florida (USF), division of Maternal Fetal Medicine. In addition to providing counseling as an information specialist at MotherToBaby Florida and USF Exposures Clinic, she provides prenatal and preconception genetic counseling in various clinics in the Tampa Bay area. She also provides clinical supervision and coursework instruction for students form the USF Genetic Counseling Program. Réka, originally from Budapest, Hungary, earned her MSPH in Genetic Counseling from the University of South Florida in 2019.

MotherToBaby Team - Réka Müller, MSPH, CG

Sarah Običan, MD

Dr. Običan is the Medical Director of MotherToBaby Florida. She is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist specializing in maternal-fetal medicine, with particular research and clinical interest in teratology, fetal echocardiography and fetal therapy. She completed her Doctor of Medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine, a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University, and maternal-fetal medicine fellowship training at the Columbia University Medical Center. She is also fellowship trained in reproductive teratology and toxicology. Dr. Običan is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, division of Maternal Fetal Medicine. 

Sarah Običan, MD

Sharon Voyer Lavigne, MS, LGC

Sharon has worked for MotherToBaby Connecticut for more than 28 years, the last eighteen of which she has served as the Coordinator. She is also currently the Research Coordinator representing her service. Sharon is a clinical Instructor in the Division of Human Genetics, Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences at UConn Health in Farmington, CT. She graduated from Northeastern University and went on to receive a Master’s of Science in Human Genetics/Genetic Counseling from Sarah Lawrence College. Sharon’s research interest lies in psychiatric diseases in pregnancy and their treatment, and prevention of prenatal isotretinoin exposures.

MotherToBaby Team - Sharon Voyer Lavigne, MS

Sonia Alvarado

Sonia is a bilingual (Spanish/English) information specialist with MotherToBaby California. Along with answering people’s and health professionals’ questions regarding exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding via phone, email, and live chat, she provides educational talks in the community regarding pregnancy health and supports the activities to promote MotherToBaby’s services. In addition, Sonia has authored several MotherToBaby Blogs and has translated content into Spanish. She has also served in leadership and member roles for several OTIS Committees, including the Education Committee, Abstract Committee and Marketing and Website Committees.

MotherToBaby Team - Sonia Alvarado

Study Team

Christina Chambers, PhD, MPH, Principal Investigator

Dr. Chambers is Professor of Pediatrics and Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), Clinical Professor in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego, and the Director of Clinical Research at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego. She is a perinatal epidemiologist who leads a number of national and international complex longitudinal cohort studies and clinical trials of prenatal exposures and child health and development. Her research has been instrumental in identifying previously unrecognized human teratogens, as well as ruling out substantial risk for other medications and vaccines. In addition to being the lead investigator of MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies, Dr. Chambers is the Program Director of the MotherToBaby California affiliate. She is also a founding principal investigator for the Vaccines and Medications in Pregnancy Surveillance System (VAMPSS), which is the first national system to evaluate medication and vaccine safety in human pregnancy.

Christina Chambers, MPH, PhD

Kenneth Lyons, Jones, MD, Co-Investigator & Study Dysmorphologist

Dr. Jones is Distinguished Professor and Chief of the Division of Dysmorphology and Teratology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego. He is also Medical Director of the MotherToBaby California affiliate, which he founded in 1979. Dr. Jones received his M.D. from Hahnemann Medical School, and completed a pediatric internship at Philadelphia General Hospital and a pediatric residency at the University of Washington in Seattle. His research has focused on the clinical detection of birth defects and the mechanisms of normal and abnormal growth of tissues and organs during development. He is board certified in Pediatrics, and performs infant physical examinations for MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies.

Kenneth Lyons, Jones, MD

Chad Haldeman-Englert, MD, Study Dysmorphologist

Dr. Haldeman-Englert is a clinical geneticist, and serves as the medical director for the Cone Health Precision Health program. His clinical responsibilities include pediatric and adult care at Cone Health, and is the principal investigator of the Cone Health population genomic screening program. He received his M.D. from Penn State University College of Medicine, completed an internship and residency in pediatrics and internal medicine at Valleywise Health and Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and a fellowship in clinical genetics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania. He is board certified in clinical genetics, and performs infant physical examinations for MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies.

Margaret Adam, MD, Study Dysmorphologist

Dr. Adam is Professor in the Division of Genetic Medicine, Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington. Her clinical responsibilities include pediatric care at Seattle Children’s Hospital, as well as counseling people who are pregnant through the Prenatal Diagnosis Center at the University of Washington. She received her M.D. from Stanford University School of Medicine, and completed an internship and residency in Pediatrics at the Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and a fellowship in Medical Genetics at Stanford University Hospital. She is board certified in Medical Genetics and Pediatrics, and performs infant physical examinations for MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies.

Margaret Adam

Miguel del Campo Casanelles, MD, PhD, Study Dysmorphologist

Dr. del Campo Casanelles is a medical geneticist and Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California San Diego. He cares for patients with dysmorphologic, genetic, and teratologic conditions at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego and conducts clinical research projects in the Division of Dysmorphology and Teratology at UCSD. He is board certified in both Clinical Genetics and performs infant physical examinations for MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies.

Miguel Del Campo

Stephen R. Braddock, MD, Study Dysmorphologist

Dr. Braddock is Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Medical Genetics at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. He received his M.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine in 1988, completed an internship and residency in Pediatrics at the University of Utah and fellowships in Medical Genetics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/UCLA in Los Angeles and in Dysmorphology and Teratology at the University of California San Diego. He is board-certified in both Pediatrics and Medical Genetics, and performs infant physical examinations for MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies.

Stephen Braddock

Jane Adams, PhD, Neurodevelopmental Follow-up Director

Dr. Adams is the Director of Neurodevelopmental Follow-up for MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies at UC San Diego Department of Pediatrics and Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Boston (1988 – 2020). Throughout her career, Dr. Adams has conducted research of regulatory and clinical relevance within the field of neurobehavioral teratology with a primary focus on the effects of prenatal exposure to certain prescription medications upon the neurobehavioral development of the child. She has held several elected positions and been an active member in both the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention and the Developmental Neurotoxicology Society.

Jane Adams, PhD

Patricia Janulewicz Lloyd, DSc, Neurodevelopmental Follow-up Associate Director

Dr. Janulewicz Lloyd is an Assistant Professor in the Environmental Health Department at Boston University, School of Public Health. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Massachusetts, under the tutelage of Dr. Jane Adams. She continued her education at Boston University, receiving a Masters in Public Health and Doctor of Science degree in Environmental Health.  Dr. Janulewicz Lloyd has worked with MotherToBaby California for the past 11 years and recently became the Associate Director of the Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Program, under the direction of Dr. Adams.  In her free time, Dr. Janulewicz Lloyd likes to spend her time with her husband, Nathanael, their three children (Eric, Eleanor and Caroline), and their dog Marley.

Patricia Lloyd

Kelly Kao, BA, Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Program Manager

Kelly Kao is the Program Manager of the Neurodevelopmental Follow-Up Program at the UC San Diego Center for Better Beginnings, where she oversees the team of psychometrists that conducts developmental assessments for the Center’s research programs, including MotherToBaby Pregnancy Studies. She has been with Division of Environmental Science & Health since 1993. Kelly obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology at the UC San Diego with minors in Biology and Spanish Literature. She became interested in prenatal environmental exposures that cause birth defects and long-term developmental effects when she took a Sociology of Law course that examined the death penalty case of a man who was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). She actively demonstrates her dedication to educating the community about prenatal environmental exposures through her outreach activities, lectures, and research projects.

MotherToBaby Team - Kelly Kao, BA

Robert Felix, BA

Robert is a senior information specialist based at MotherToBaby California. He also serves as Stakeholder Liaison for the OTIS National Office, where he cultivates new partnerships with healthcare providers/administrators and a number of national programs for under-served populations. He attends and participates at national conferences such as the Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP), National Healthy Start, National WIC, Postpartum Support International, Primary Care Association and March of Dimes to strengthen OTIS’ community engagement. Robert has also served as President, Secretary, and Member-At-Large of OTIS’s Board of Directors.

MotherToBaby Team - Robert Felix, BA

Violet Webb, MS.Ed., Study Psychometrist

Violet Webb is a Psychometrist and Research Associate in the Developmental Follow-Up Program at MotherToBaby. She attended San Francisco State University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. In 2017, she went on to receive her Masters of Science and Advanced Certificate in Educational Psychology from CUNY Brooklyn. Violet is passionate about working with children and contributing to the research that will provide insight about child development. Her goal is to provide assessments that are both fun and comfortable for parent and child.

Violet webb