How every page is researched, sourced, and reviewed.

The six principles behind every page

1. The answer comes first. Every clinical page opens with a direct verdict and a plain-language answer, then shows the studies and guideline documents behind it. When the evidence is mixed, the verdict rounds down, never up.
2. Every source is real, and linked. We cite MotherToBaby, ACOG, the CDC, the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, the FDA, and PubMed, and every citation resolves to a working page. If a claim cannot be sourced, it does not run.
3. Reviewed by the right specialty. Each safety and symptom entry is assigned to an OB/GYN, with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist or certified nurse-midwife brought in when the topic calls for it. Ingredient and over-the-counter pages go to a clinical pharmacist. A reviewer's sign-off is what moves a page out of draft.
4. Structure and function, never disease. We write in structure and function terms and never claim to cure, treat, prevent, diagnose, or heal a disease. Every substance page carries the FDA disclaimer block and a line telling you to consult your healthcare provider.
5. Draft until a clinician signs off. Until a reviewer signs off, a page reads draft, pending clinical review, and that status shows on the page alongside the reviewer's name and a last-updated date.
6. Medications get a referral, not a verdict. Over-the-counter medicines get a neutral evidence summary and a clear pointer to your provider. Pregnancy Smart never issues a brand safety verdict on a medication.

Source hierarchy

When medical guidance conflicts, we defer to the highest-authority source in this order: MotherToBaby fact sheets, ACOG practice bulletins and committee opinions, CDC and NIH/ODS guidance, FDA drug labels, and finally peer-reviewed PubMed literature. We do not cite consumer blogs, product marketing, or unsourced expert opinion.

Verdict rubric

• Generally considered safe: routine use aligns with mainstream OB guidance and no serious pregnancy-specific concerns are documented.
• Use with caution: some situations warrant caution, or evidence is mixed.
• Best avoided: mainstream guidance discourages routine use in pregnancy.
• Evidence summary: consult your healthcare provider: used for over-the-counter medications and topics where the correct answer is patient-specific.

Review cadence

Every clinical page carries a last-updated date. Reviewers re-audit each entry annually or when a cited guideline changes, whichever is sooner. When a reviewer materially changes a page, they attach an update note.

Corrections

Corrections are welcome. If you believe a page is inaccurate or a citation is broken, please contact our editorial team. Substantive corrections are logged in the page's update note.

Ownership and how we make money

This library is published by Pregnancy Smart, the company that makes the Pregnancy Smart supplements. Members of our clinical board, including our founder and our chief executive, hold roles in the company. We state this plainly because it is the honest context for everything you read here.

Two rules keep the commercial side from bending the clinical side. First, every verdict is sourced to third-party clinical guidance and rounds down on mixed or thin evidence, regardless of whether the topic touches our own products: our caution verdicts on botanicals that appear in our own formulas are the proof. Second, any place a page mentions a Pregnancy Smart product, the mention carries an on-page disclosure that we make it.

What this site is not

Pregnancy Smart is a general reference library. It is not personalized medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making any medication, supplement, or activity change during pregnancy.