NON-PROFIT ANNOUNCES FREE CHAT COUNSELING FOR PREGNANT WOMEN
Private Instant Messaging Service Aimed For Pregnant & Breastfeeding Moms Will Be First Of Its Kind
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO, October 29, 2010- A non-profit that's traditionally been a telephone hotline-only counseling service for pregnant and breastfeeding women seeking information about medications and other exposures will soon expand to offer counseling through private instant messaging chat on its website, CTISPregnancy.org.
The California Teratogen Information Service (CTIS) Pregnancy Health Information Line, which is housed at the University of California, San Diego, has been planning the major website overhaul all year and the new feature is set to launch this winter. Those behind the project hope it will propel the service into the 21st century-way of communicating with moms all over the world.
"We are proud and very excited to be able to use this technology as an option for women who need our services, and look forward to demonstrating how valuable this is," said Dr. Christina Chambers, professor of pediatrics at UCSD and program director of CTIS Pregnancy Health Information Line. "One of our goals at CTIS is to build on advances in technology to bring our free services to more women of all different backgrounds who have questions about the safety of exposures in pregnancy and while breastfeeding. This will help us achieve that goal," she added.
The chat service will be monitored by several highly-trained CTIS counselors who specialize in answering questions regarding medications, environmental, chemical and illicit substances, as well as other exposures, during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Women will be able to log on and chat with a counselor directly and privately. The counselor instant messaging service will be the first of its kind in the nation for pregnant and/or breastfeeding women and will also be available in Spanish.
"This will be for women who feel like they don't have time to call us on our traditional hotline and prefer to use their computer or laptop," said Sonia Alvarado, a CTIS Pregnancy Health Information Line supervising counselor. "This option will also be ideal for women who are concerned about talking to someone on the phone, although our service is confidential or anonymous, regardless," she explained.
The chat service is tentatively set to debut in mid-December and will be available Monday through Friday every week.
The new chat feature will be a major component in the non-profit's overhaul of its website. While a strong portion of the new CTISPregnancy.org will continue to be the library of evidence-based fact sheets geared for moms and healthcare professionals, it will also feature blogs, news articles, improved forums, and a chance for women to build profiles and exchange information among each other, as well as with experts.
"We're aiming to make the website as interactive as possible so it's a gathering place for moms and healthcare providers alike," said Alvarado. "The quality of the information is evidence-based regardless of the method we use to communicate it, so women and providers can be sure that however they reach out to us, professionalism is not compromised," she added.
In the meantime, questions or concerns from women planning a pregnancy, currently pregnant or breastfeeding can be directed to the CTIS Pregnancy Health Information Line, at (800) 532-3749. Outside of California, please call the Organization of Teratology Information Specialists (OTIS) at (866) 626-OTIS (6847).
For more information or if you would like to schedule an interview, please contact Nicole Chavez at (619) 294-6262 or at ncchavez@ucsd.edu. Spanish-speaking interviews are also available.
CTIS Pregnancy Health Information Line is the California affiliate of OTIS, a North American non-profit dedicated to providing accurate evidence-based, clinical information to patients and health care professionals about exposures during pregnancy and lactation through its toll-free hotline and website, OTISPregnancy.org. Nearly 100,000 women seek information about birth defect prevention from OTIS and its affiliates every year.
Tags: