The MotherToBaby network, which provides free education and counseling about drug exposure during pregnancy, is getting a funding infusion, thanks to a $2.4-million federal grant.
The money is part of a 2-year cooperative agreement between the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists, which operates the MotherToBaby network.
The new money will allow the nonprofit group to expand access to a number of its services, including its toll-free hotline, website, and in-person counseling program.
Dr. Kenneth Lyons Jones
The MotherToBaby network includes 14 sites at universities and hospitals around the United States where women can receive free, evidence-based, personalized risk assessments related to their exposure to a number of prescription and over-the-counter drugs during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The toll-free hotline (1-866-626-6847) connects women and health care providers to teratogen information specialists, while the website includes fact sheets on medications and other exposures.
“Before this funding opportunity, we were in danger of closing some of the services providing critical exposure counseling to health care providers and the general public,” Dr. Kenneth Lyons Jones, a past president of MotherToBaby, said in an interview. “Not only does the funding from HRSA make it possible for our 14 services to continue providing free and in-depth personalized risk assessments, but also to conduct even more outreach efforts across all 50 states.”
The group plans to use the funding specifically to reach out to women in Spanish-speaking communities. They estimate that more than 100,000 women and their health care providers seek information about birth-defect prevention from MotherToBaby each year. With the new federal support, they are hoping to increase that number two-fold over the next 2 years, Dr. Jones said.
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