(Salt Lake City, UT) – For three decades, the Pregnancy Risk Line’s
(PRL) MotherToBaby service has helped mothers and health care providers
keep babies safe during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. On May 30,
the program celebrates 30 years of service and will take its 230,000th
call, give or take a few.
The experts at MotherToBaby answer questions about a
variety of potential exposures like foods, prescriptions, medications,
diseases, and immunizations a baby can be exposed to through Mom.
“Health care providers ask about pain medications, moms want to know if
it’s safe to paint the nursery, even grandmothers call to ask whether
mom is doing too much exercise,” says program coordinator Lynn Martinez.
“Every call is important. We’re happy to be helping families feel safer
and navigate through a stressful time.”
Geneticist John C. Carey, M.D., founder and
MotherToBaby medical director, remembers getting the idea for the
service in 1979 when he first started his practice in pediatric
genetics. “We struggled with helping moms who often felt deep guilt
about the exposure they had received, causing their child’s birth
defect, when in fact it hadn’t,” said Carey. “The service still faces
some of the same challenges today,” he added. “With access to
information more available but not always reliable, moms feel the risk
to baby is higher than what has been proven, and providers often find
conflicting information in published research.”
Experts at MotherToBaby review new studies, compare
findings to past studies, and work with professionals from other
disciplines to determine the risk for exposures.
“The
personalized risk assessments we provide help clinicians and mothers
determine the best course for each situation,” Martinez said, “Sometimes
there are risky conditions and risky medications, such as using an
antiepileptic medication versus the danger of leaving the mom’s epilepsy
uncontrolled. We provide the latest evidence-based information to help
the primary care provider and mom make an informed choice, together.”
Former First Lady Norma Matheson was on hand 30
years ago and said hello to the first caller. She is happy to return to
help celebrate the anniversary. “The Risk Line has been a reassuring
resource for moms who just want to do what’s best for their growing
baby,” said the First Lady. I’m proud of the work MotherToBaby staff
have been doing for Utah mothers-to-be and wish them another 30 year of
helping save babies’ lives.”
PRL’s MotherToBaby is a joint partnership between
the Utah Department of Health and the University of Utah. It is one of
16 member services of the North American Organization of Teratology
Information Specialists, now known as MotherToBaby. The service is open
for calls Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. at 1-800-822-2229 or 801-328-2229. For more information visit http://www.mothertobaby.org or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
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