MotherToBaby: Partnering to prevent birth defects and improve the health of pregnant and postpartum people and their infants - People who are pregnant or breastfeeding often have difficulty weighing the risks and benefits of medications, vaccines, and other exposures. Limited, conflicting, and inaccurate information can cause confusion and anxiety, especially during public health emergencies. MotherToBaby is the leading nationwide expert on the effects of exposures in pregnancy and breastfeeding. Trained MotherToBaby specialists evaluate complex safety and risk information and convey it in an understandable way directly to the public. Through the proposed activities, MotherToBaby seeks to leverage partnerships to further address barriers to providing accurate information about exposures through trusted sources for people who are pregnant or postpartum and breastfeeding. Through activities of Component A, MotherToBaby will improve health outcomes of people who are pregnant and postpartum, and their infants, by enabling them to make informed healthcare decisions about medications, vaccines, and other exposures. Activities will 1) enhance data collection on exposures, 2) disseminate evidence-based messaging about exposures to healthcare providers and the public, and 3) collaborate to better address the health information needs of populations at increased risk of adverse maternal and infant outcomes. MotherToBaby aims to achieve the following outcomes via Component A: • Short-term Outcome (STO): Increased availability of data to inform clinical care and public health materials, messaging, resources, and interventions • STO: Increased dissemination of data-informed clinical care and public health materials, messaging, resources, and interventions • STO: Increased incorporation of diverse perspectives into clinical care and public health materials, messaging, resources, and interventions • STO: Improved information sharing and/or coordination among networks • Intermediate Outcome (IO): Increased awareness of effective data-informed clinical care and public health materials, messaging, resources, and interventions • IO: Increased use of data-informed clinical care and public health materials, messaging, resources, and interventions Through activities of Component B, MotherToBaby will establish essential partnerships with CDC and other groups to best respond to disease outbreaks or public health emergencies where pregnancy and breastfeeding exposure data may be lacking. Streamlined communication between organizations will allow MotherToBaby to disseminate emerging information and reinforce recommendations to people who are pregnant and breastfeeding, thereby decreasing the risk of birth defects, pregnancy complications, and maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. MotherToBaby call data will provide CDC with real-time questions from the public to inform key public health messaging for these populations. MotherToBaby aims to achieve the following outcomes via Component B: • STO: Increased awareness about outbreak response and issues that affect population of focus and their families during public health emergencies • STO: Improved information sharing and/or coordination among networks • IO: Improved capacity within organizations to respond to the needs of population of focus and their families during public health emergencies
