On the Go and in the Know

Health care providers have a new resource to access information about medication for millions of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers thanks to a new smartphone application unveiled today at the 2011 International Lactation Consultant Association Conference.

The app, which is a product of the InfantRisk Center, will give health care providers fast, convenient access to up-to-date information about medications and their safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

“This is a landmark day for the health and safety of women and infants,” said InfantRisk Center Executive Director Thomas Hale, Ph.D., who is one of the world’s leading experts in the field of prenatal pharmacology and the use of medications. “The new phone app makes it possible for health care professionals to have immediate access to the most up-to-date information on medications anytime, anywhere to provide the best possible care to their patients.”

Hale, who serves as professor of pediatrics and associate dean of research at the School of Medicine, has spent the past 25 years developing a database of evidence-based information on the interaction of thousands of medications and their affect on babies in the womb and during breastfeeding. One of Hale’s books, "Medications and Mothers’ Milk," has been translated into multiple languages and is considered to be the best source of medication information for breastfeeding patients.

Check Out a Demo of the App

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEB8R_Th0PA&feature=channel_video_title

Highlights of the app include:

• Reliable safety ratings and other information on more than 20,000 drugs, syndromes and other products
• Search capabilities that allow users to enter product name and/or sort by category to obtain product safety information and indicate if that product is safe for use
• Major lists of appropriate drugs for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers for various conditions (headache, nausea, allergies)
• Easily-accessible recalled product information with push notification ability

“The InfantRisk Center’s smartphone application is an amazing new resource for health care professionals,” said President Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D. “The app is so vital that it could eventually become as synonymous with certain health care professionals as the stethoscope and tongue depressor. We commend Dr. Hale and the InfantRisk Center for their significant contribution to the health and safety of women and infants.”

More than 4 million women give birth in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Virtually all of these women will use at least one medication during pregnancy or when breastfeeding. Of these women, 77 percent will initiate breastfeeding and most will use at least one prescription or over-the-counter medication during lactation.

The InfantRisk Center Mobile Application, which was developed by Hale, TTUHSC, the InfantRisk Center and Fleishman-Hillard International Communications, is compatible with the Android and Apple iPhone. The app is available on iTunes and Android Market for a $29.95 annual subscription. MommyMeds™, the consumer version of the app, will be released later this year. Designed for mothers, the consumer app has many unique features including product-scanning capabilities.