I wanted to let everyone know that there are experts available to answer your questions about the safety of Psoriasis medicines during pregnancy by calling OTIS at 877-311-8972 (toll free in the US and Canada). You will speak with a phone counselor who is a trained in teratology (the study of birth defects caused by exposures during pregnancy). This service is free and confidential. OTIS counselors have a variety of backgrounds in the health care field and include doctors, genetic counselors, nurses, and researchers. You can also check out their website at www.otispregnancy.org. Under resources, you will find information fact sheets in English and Spanish on a variety of common pregnancy questions like topical acne creams, caffeine, nausea and vomiting, and depression, as well as some prescription and non-prescription medications.

In addition to providing updated and accurate information on medicines during pregnancy, OTIS conducts telephone interviews with willing participants to learn more about health conditions and medicines during pregnancy. This increased knowledge should benefit women and their doctors in the future by aiding in treatment decisions and ideally providing reassurance. One project, the OTIS Autoimmune Diseases Pregnancy Project is researching the effects of autoimmune diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriasis, as well as the medications used to treat these conditions during pregnancy. Participants will not be asked to take or stop taking any medication as part of this study. We are also enrolling a comparison group for this study (women who don’t have an autoimmune disease, but who are pregnant). If you are interested in learning more about this study, please call 1-877-311-8972 (Toll Free in Canada and the US), email raandpregnancy@ucsd.edu or check out the website at www.otispregnancy.org