How Cybele Works

Our Mission

Cybele is a non-profit initiative of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), developed to provide healthcare professionals and patients with a reliable, freely accessible reference for medication safety during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Our mission is simple: to reduce unnecessary medication avoidance during pregnancy and breastfeeding by providing clear, trustworthy information — and to ensure that when treatment is needed, both patient and provider can make an informed, evidence-based decision.

How We Select and Compile Information

Cybele does not produce primary guidelines. Instead, we systematically compile, critically evaluate, and synthesise existing scientific literature and clinical guidelines from recognised national and international health authorities, including:

• National professional organisations (e.g., Belgian clinical guidelines)
• International bodies (e.g., WHO, NICE, EMA, major obstetric and pharmacological societies)
• Peer-reviewed pharmacological databases (e.g., LactMed, Reprotox, ENTIS)
• Published systematic reviews and meta-analyses

For each medication or condition, we identify and assess all relevant sources, highlight areas of consensus, and clearly note where evidence is limited or conflicting.

Our Expert Team

All content is developed, reviewed, and approved by a multidisciplinary team of specialists including:

• Clinical pharmacologists
• Obstetricians and gynaecologists
• Paediatricians and neonatologists
• Pharmacists
• Midwives

You can meet the full team on our Our Team page. Every team member's potential conflicts of interest are disclosed transparently.

Review and Update Process

Cybele content is reviewed on an ongoing basis. Our update process includes:

• Continuous monitoring — our team monitors new publications, regulatory decisions, and guideline updates as they are published
• Triggered reviews — major new evidence (e.g., a large RCT, a drug safety warning, or a guideline revision) triggers an immediate review of the relevant entries
• Scheduled reviews — all entries are subject to a full systematic review on a rolling schedule to ensure no information becomes stale

When significant updates are made, we notify subscribers via our newsletter.

Transparency and Independence

Cybele maintains strict editorial independence. We do not accept promotional funding from pharmaceutical companies. All financial support comes from academic institutions, health authorities, and individual donations through the Cybele Fund at VUB.

Potential conflicts of interest for all team members are disclosed on their individual profiles. All content decisions are made collectively by the expert team according to pre-established, evidence-based criteria.

Reporting Errors or Concerns

We take accuracy very seriously. If you believe any information on Cybele is incorrect, incomplete, or outdated, please contact us. All reports are reviewed by the editorial team within a reasonable timeframe.

We also welcome contributions from healthcare professionals who wish to collaborate on developing or updating content.