Navigating Pregnancy Risks: Consult the Teratology Experts
During pregnancy, you may have questions and concerns about illnesses and about drugs that you usually take or want to take. It is perfectly natural and understandable, but to save you unnecessary worry, it is a good idea to get to know the National Center of Teratology Information Specialists.
What is teratology
Teratology is a science that deals with causes, mechanisms and manifestations of abnormal development of the fetus for various reasons, which may cause death, disorders, growth disorders or various dysfunction types. Clinical teratology deals primarily with congenital disorders that are caused by environmental effects.
The National Center of Teratology Information Specialists provides information and guidance on matters related to exposure to hazards during pregnancy, such as: drugs, infections, radiation, chemicals, illnesses (chronic, seasonal or other) and environmental factors that may adversely affect pregnancy, your health and that of the fetus you are carrying. The information on which the center bases its work and works with comes from international and national data and on current research, and it focuses on preventive medicine in two stages: while planning pregnancy and during pregnancy.
Teratology counseling is intended for
Women who are pregnant or planning pregnancy, breastfeeding women, physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and the general public.
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Counseling for women who are planning pregnancy
The center’s professional staff will recommend you take folic acid before pregnancy and continue to take it when you are pregnant. Folic acid helps prevent congenital disorders when administered before pregnancy and in the first trimester of pregnancy, when the organs are formed. The center provides information and counseling about drugs that are safe to use during pregnancy and encourages using them and not drugs that may cause congenital disorders (when there is a possible alternative).
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Counseling for pregnant women
The center’s staff will recommend tests that you should undergo owing to exposure to hazards during pregnancy or before childbirth. If severe defects are identified in the fetus, you should consider terminating the pregnancy.
Purposes of the National Center of Teratology Information Specialists
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1Preventing the birth of infants with congenital disorders
Providing suitable counseling before and during pregnancy, including a recommendation to consume folic acid, may help prevent the birth of infants with congenital disorders.
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2Preventing termination of pregnancy due to incorrect information
Sometimes, incorrect information about the risk of environmental exposure during pregnancy results in pregnancies being terminated to prevent the birth of infants with disorders and fear for the health of the mother and the fetus. Suitable counseling may prevent the termination of pregnancy when there is no increased risk of disorders.
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3Reducing anxiety
Reliable, current information and answers from professionals can contribute to your peace of mind and promote your physical and mental health, before and during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
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4Encouraging the educated use of drugs during pregnancy and breastfeeding
Professional counseling from qualified individuals can put your mind at rest when you want to take various drugs that may help you during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The center’s professional staff can provide advice and encourage you to take medications that are safe during pregnancy, thus preventing you from being at risk owing to untreated illnesses.
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5Assessing risks
If are exposed to an environmental factor that forms a risk of congenital disorders, the center’s professional staff will be able to provide you a reliable risk assessment and recommend certain diagnostic means during pregnancy.
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6Providing information and conducting research
The center aims at providing and offering the public reliable, current and substantiated information about global figures related to environmental exposure during pregnancy and breastfeeding. The center also conducts studies on safety and risk factors about which there is no information.
Subjects on which advice may be received at the National Center of Teratology Information Specialists
- Taking antibiotics or antiallergic drugs.
- Taking antianxiety or antidepressant drugs.
- Exposure to x-ray radiation.
- Diabetes.
- Taking birth control pills at the beginning of an unplanned pregnancy.
- Suspicion of infection or viral illness such as CMV (cytomegalovirus).
- Eating improperly cooked meat and suspicion of toxoplasmosis (infection by toxoplasma parasite).
How to get counseling at the center
You can receive advice from the center’s professional team, which will include a full explanation about the possible risk to the fetus as a result of exposure and tests that may be performed for diagnosing possible damage. After the call, you may be given a letter with a risk assessment on congenital disorders that may be caused due to the exposure. The service is provided free of charge. The center’s telephone number is 02-5082825.
For urgent advice after working hours, you can call the Ministry of Health’s Poison Information Center in Haifa, which operates 24 hours a day with a personnel that can provide answers to urgent questions. The center's telephone number is 04-7771900.
Counseling meeting at the center: if there is a significant risk to your fetus following exposure to any factor or agent, you can schedule a paid counseling meeting at the clinic in Jerusalem.
Consultation and information on risks relating to pregnancy and breastfeeding
Address of the National Center for Teratology Information Specialists, operation hours of the telephone service center and more information