As wildfires continue to occur each year, often sending smoke and ash across long distances, vulnerable populations including pregnant women have a higher chance of experiencing adverse health effects. Understanding the possible effects of prenatal wildfire smoke exposure on child neurodevelopment is critical to efforts around prevention and early intervention.      

This webinar will outline the possible exposures associated with wildfire smoke, review current data from ongoing studies around child neurodevelopment following prenatal wildfire smoke exposure, and discuss ways to reduce and potentially mitigate these risks during pregnancy.

Rebecca Schmidt, PhD, is a tenured full professor at UC Davis and a molecular epidemiologist with over 20 years of research experience in epidemiology, gene-environment interactions, epigenetics, maternal and child health, and a primary emphasis on neurodevelopment and autism. Her pioneering research focuses on how prenatal environmental and nutritional exposures interact with genomics, molecular mechanisms, and developmental programming to influence the neurodevelopmental outcomes of children. She leads a large biorepository and several child development cohort studies, including the MARBLES autism pregnancy cohort, the B-SAFE wildfire pregnancy cohort, and the PEACH cohort site for the national Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.

Questions about COVID-19 and GLP-1 medications are common in the pregnant/postpartum population. Newborn care specialists, who provide in-home infant care and parent education during the postpartum period, can assist families in navigating these topics.

Designed specifically for newborn care specialists, this webinar will help identify some commonly asked questions about COVID-19 and GLP-1 medications, apply communication strategies that support families and their questions while staying within professional scope, and recognize when family questions require referral to healthcare providers.

Chris Stallman, MLS, MS is a certified genetic counselor, Program Director of the University of Arizona Genetic Counseling Graduate Program, and Director of MotherToBaby Arizona. As a teratogen information specialist with MotherToBaby, Chris supports patients, families, and healthcare providers in navigating questions about medications and other exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding and promotes evidence-based, accessible health information.

In recognition of World Birth Defects Day, MotherToBaby hosted a special educational webinar, “Assisted Reproduction and Birth Defects Risk.” The session features Dr. Sarah Običan, Division Director of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at University of South Florida Health and Medical Director of MotherToBaby Florida. Dr. Običan is a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist specializing in maternal-fetal medicine, with particular expertise in teratology, fetal echocardiography, and fetal therapy. She completed her medical degree at the University of Miami School of Medicine, her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University, and her maternal-fetal medicine fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center. She also completed fellowship training in reproductive teratology and toxicology. In addition to her clinical and academic leadership as an Associate Professor at USF, Dr. Običan is a past president of MotherToBaby, a service of the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists.

During this webinar, Dr. Običan reviews current evidence on assisted reproductive technologies and birth defects risk, with practical insights for healthcare professionals involved in patient counseling and clinical care.