Motherisk - pregnancy help programme - turns 20

Motherisk, the celebrated risk-reduction program for pregnant women run by the Hospital for Sick Children, is turning 20.

The program has been counselling women and conducting research into the safety or lack thereof for developing babies of maternal exposure to drugs, chemicals, diseases, radiation and environmental agents for the past two decades.

Since its creation in 1985, Motherisk has counselled more than 250,000 women. It was the first to show that second hand smoke was harmful to fetuses and established the safety of important epilepsy and depression drugs during pregnancy.

"We were getting these calls and realized that we didn't have a system to adequately track and assess potential risks," says program director Dr. Gideon Koren.

"We began Motherisk not only to provide authoritative information and consultation, but also to develop a research and education program in the area of reproductive and developmental toxicology."

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