title: Calls to a teratogen information service regarding potential exposures in pregnancy and breastfeeding.
abstract: MotherToBaby Utah is a teratogen information service that provides support for pregnant and breastfeeding women and healthcare providers regarding risks of exposures to medications, infections, herbals, homeopathic and dietary medications, chemicals and other substances. Calls are anonymous and free of charge. This study was undertaken to examine the volume and classification of calls regarding exposures during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
  
  
  
  Data were extracted from calls requesting information about medication use and other exposures to pregnant and breastfeeding women, between January 1 2009 and December 31 2012. Descriptive statistics were calculated.
  
  
  
  A total of 27,299 calls regarding 46,031 exposures were identified in this study population. The majority of calls were made by the exposed individual (82.1 %); 13.0 % were made by a healthcare provider and 4.9 % were made by a family member or acquaintance. The majority of calls concerned pregnancy (65.8 %) versus breastfeeding (34.2 %). Exposure during the current pregnancy was the subject of 88.6 % of calls. For calls where trimester information was available, the percentage of calls for first, second and third trimesters were 44.1, 32.5 and 23.4 %, respectively.
  
  
  
  This study found analgesics, cold medications, herbals, homeopathic, and dietary medications were of the topic of concern for the majority of the calls regarding exposure during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding. Teratogen information services gather and provide important educational resources for both patients and healthcare providers. As the majority of calls concern nonprescription drugs and vaccines, these data provide insight into a lack of education on these subjects that should be addressed during prenatal care.
authors.affiliation: Nelson Laboratories, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.|Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Tyler T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Kast
authors.affiliation: Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: Manijeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamyar
authors.affiliation: Utah Department of Health, Pregnancy Risk Line, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, USA.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. catherine.sherwin@hsc.utah.edu.|Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA. catherine.sherwin@hsc.utah.edu.
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sherwin
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000639:trends*; D000070456:Call Centers / Q000639:trends*; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000639:trends; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000639:trends*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013723:Teratogens / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D013723:Teratogens
keywords: Birth defects; Breastfeeding; Pharmaceuticals; Pregnancy; Teratogen; Vaccines