How to Evaluate Online Pregnancy Medication Advice for Accuracy

Every year, millions of pregnant women turn to the internet for answers about what medications are safe. They scroll through Reddit threads, Facebook groups, and YouTube videos, hoping to find clarity. But here’s the hard truth: online pregnancy medication advice is often wrong. A 2019 study found that only 57% of online posts about medication use in pregnancy matched the gold-standard safety classifications from Teratology Information Services. That means nearly half the advice you read could be misleading-or dangerous.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

It’s not just about taking the wrong pill. When a woman stops her prescribed antidepressant because a forum post claimed it causes autism, or skips her asthma inhaler because a blog said it’s risky, the consequences aren’t theoretical. Untreated depression during pregnancy increases the chance of preterm birth. Uncontrolled asthma can starve the baby of oxygen. Yet, 65.7% of pregnant women say their pharmacist didn’t give them enough information when filling a prescription. So they go online-and get confused, scared, or misinformed.

The Gold Standard: Teratology Information Services (TIS)

Not all safety labels are created equal. The TIS system is the most trusted framework used by specialists worldwide. It breaks medications into four clear categories:

• Safe: No known risk based on human studies.
• Contraindicated: Proven harm. Avoid completely.
• On strict indication or second-line: Only use if benefits clearly outweigh risks.
• Insufficient knowledge: Not enough data to say for sure.

Here’s where things go off track. Studies show that 93% of people misclassify medications in the “strict indication” category. They think a drug is dangerous when it’s actually needed. And 76% get the “insufficient knowledge” ones wrong-assuming it’s unsafe when it might be fine. The problem isn’t that the information is hidden. It’s that most websites don’t use TIS at all. They use vague phrases like “some doctors say” or “I heard it’s risky.”

Check the Source-Not Just the Story

Before you trust anything you read, ask: Where did this come from? Not every website is equal.

• Trustworthy: .gov sites (like the FDA), .edu sites (university health departments), and organizations like MotherToBaby (run by OTIS) are reliable. MotherToBaby’s advice matches TIS classifications 92% of the time.
• Unreliable: Social media posts, personal blogs, and commercial sites selling supplements or “natural remedies” are the worst offenders. One study found 19.4% of pharmacy or drug company websites were unhelpful. And 42% of sites that look educational are secretly funded by pharmaceutical companies.

Look for the HONcode seal (Health on the Net Foundation). It’s not perfect, but it means the site follows basic ethical guidelines for health content. If you see “Sponsored by XYZ Pharma” buried in small print, walk away.

Follow the Citations-or Don’t Believe It

Accurate advice always points to real studies. It doesn’t say “research shows.” It says: “A 2021 study in JAMA Internal Medicine of 95,000 pregnancies found no link between paracetamol use and neurodevelopmental delays (Liew et al.).”

If a post says “natural herbs are safer,” but doesn’t name the study, the author, or the journal-it’s not evidence. It’s opinion. And here’s the kicker: herbal supplements are not FDA-approved for pregnancy safety. Only 0.3% of them have been tested for use during pregnancy. Yet, 63% of women think they are.

Age Matters-Old Advice Is Dangerous Advice

Medicine doesn’t stand still. A 2003 guideline from the American Academy of Family Physicians found that 78% of drug labels still used outdated pregnancy risk categories (A, B, C, D, X). Those were replaced in 2015 by the FDA’s Pregnancy and Lactation Labeling Rule (PLLR), which gives detailed summaries instead of vague letters.

If a website is still using “Category C” or saying “safe in the third trimester,” it’s outdated. Experts like Dr. Christina Chambers from the FDA say: if the information is older than three years, treat it like a rumor. New studies come out every month. What was thought risky in 2021 might be proven safe in 2024.

The TRIAD Method: Your Simple Verification System

You don’t need to be a doctor to check if advice is accurate. Use this three-step system:

1. Teratology: Go to MotherToBaby.org or the LactMed database (from the National Library of Medicine). Search the exact medication name. See what they say.
2. Review: Does the source cite a real study? Find the study. Look up the DOI number. Check if the sample size was large, if it was in humans, and if it controlled for other factors like smoking or pre-existing conditions.
3. Assess: When was this page last updated? If it’s older than two years, be skeptical. If there’s no update date at all, assume it’s outdated.

This takes 15-20 minutes. But it’s better than risking your health-or your baby’s.

What About Social Media?

Reddit’s r/BabyBumps has over a million members. A pinned thread from June 2024 documented 87 cases where women stopped taking antidepressants after reading misinformation. Twenty-nine of them ended up in emergency psychiatric care. That’s not a coincidence. Social media rewards emotion, not accuracy. Posts that say “I took this and my baby was fine” get shared. Posts that say “This drug is dangerous” get shared even more. Corrections? Almost never.

Don’t trust personal stories. They’re not data. They’re anecdotes. And anecdotes don’t prove safety.

What You Can Do Right Now

You don’t have to be an expert to protect yourself. Here’s what to do today:

• Bookmark MotherToBaby.org and LactMed.
• When you see medication advice online, ask: “Is this from a .gov or .edu site?”
• Check the date. If it’s older than 2023, dig deeper.
• Call MotherToBaby’s hotline: 1-866-626-6847. It’s free, confidential, and staffed by specialists.
• Ask your OB-GYN: “Can you show me the evidence for this recommendation?”

The Bigger Picture

The global pregnancy health app market is worth $1.7 billion. Yet only 12% of those apps have been independently verified for accuracy. The FDA launched a pilot AI tool in September 2024 that flags 83% of inaccurate claims. But until that’s widely available, you’re still the first line of defense.

New tools are coming. In 2025, the NIH launched a $4.7 million project to build browser extensions that auto-check medication advice against official databases. By 2026, the FDA’s new Digital Health Software Precertification Program may finally force app makers to prove their advice is accurate before selling it.

But until then? Your best tool is critical thinking. Not fear. Not hope. Just facts.

What to Do If You’re Still Unsure

If you’ve checked the sources, read the studies, and still feel stuck-don’t guess. Don’t wait. Call a Teratology Information Service. In the U.S., MotherToBaby is your best bet. In Australia, the MotherSafe service in Sydney offers the same free, expert advice. They’ve helped thousands of women make safe decisions. You don’t need a referral. You don’t need insurance. Just a phone call.

The internet gives you access to more information than ever before. But it also gives you more noise. The key isn’t to avoid the internet. It’s to learn how to listen for the signal.