Mother safe: Review of three years of counselling by an australian teratology information service

Lim, JM; Sullivan, E; Kennedy, D

Mother safe: Review of three years of counselling by an australian teratology information service

Lim, JM Sullivan, E

Kennedy, D

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2009, 49 (2), pp. 168 - 172
Issue Date:: 2009-04-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Lim, JM	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sullivan, E https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8718-2753	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Kennedy, D	en_US
dc.date.issued	2009-04-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2009, 49 (2), pp. 168 - 172	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0004-8666	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/29018
dc.description.abstract	Background: Mother Safe was established in January 2000 at the Royal Hospital for Women as Australia's first 'purpose-built' Teratogen Information Service and since then has received over 75 000 calls regarding exposures during pregnancy and lactation. Aim: To describe the patterns of use of Mother Safe over a three-year period. Methods: Retrospective descriptive epidemiological study using data from the database established at Mother Safe. Records from all the calls logged at Mother Safe between January 2005 and December 2007 were analysed to determine total number of calls, demographic characteristics of callers, including age, caller category and postcode, reason for call, source of referral and type of exposure. Results: A total of 47 138 calls were recorded to the Mother Safe service from January 2005 to December 2007. The majority of calls were regarding exposures in pregnancy (55%) and breast-feeding (38%). Average age of patients was 32.3 years. Of the calls made, 81.9% (38 485 of 46 968) were by consumers (the pregnant or lactating woman herself or a relative). The most common primary exposure categories were: over-the-counter medications (11.3%), psychotropic medication (9.0%), herbal or vitamin products (8.2%), antibiotics (7.0%), gastrointestinal medications (6.8%) and topical products (6.6%). Forty per cent of callers enquired about multiple exposures. Conclusions: The utilisation of Mother Safe by consumers and general practitioners continues to increase, reflecting the strong demand for a teratogen counselling service that provides high-quality, evidence-based information on exposures during pregnancy and lactation. © 2009 The Authors.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1111/j.1479-828X.2009.00976.x	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Obstetrics & Reproductive Medicine	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Teratogens	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Retrospective Studies	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Breast Feeding	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Pregnancy	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Hotlines	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Drug Information Services	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adolescent	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Consumer Health Information	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Young Adult	en_US
dc.title	Mother safe: Review of three years of counselling by an australian teratology information service	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	49	en_US
utslib.for	1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine	en_US
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services	en_US
dc.location.activity	Australia
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Public Health
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	49	en_US

Abstract:

Background: Mother Safe was established in January 2000 at the Royal Hospital for Women as Australia's first 'purpose-built' Teratogen Information Service and since then has received over 75 000 calls regarding exposures during pregnancy and lactation. Aim: To describe the patterns of use of Mother Safe over a three-year period. Methods: Retrospective descriptive epidemiological study using data from the database established at Mother Safe. Records from all the calls logged at Mother Safe between January 2005 and December 2007 were analysed to determine total number of calls, demographic characteristics of callers, including age, caller category and postcode, reason for call, source of referral and type of exposure. Results: A total of 47 138 calls were recorded to the Mother Safe service from January 2005 to December 2007. The majority of calls were regarding exposures in pregnancy (55%) and breast-feeding (38%). Average age of patients was 32.3 years. Of the calls made, 81.9% (38 485 of 46 968) were by consumers (the pregnant or lactating woman herself or a relative). The most common primary exposure categories were: over-the-counter medications (11.3%), psychotropic medication (9.0%), herbal or vitamin products (8.2%), antibiotics (7.0%), gastrointestinal medications (6.8%) and topical products (6.6%). Forty per cent of callers enquired about multiple exposures. Conclusions: The utilisation of Mother Safe by consumers and general practitioners continues to increase, reflecting the strong demand for a teratogen counselling service that provides high-quality, evidence-based information on exposures during pregnancy and lactation. © 2009 The Authors.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/29018