Global Mobile Health Leader Reaches 500,000 Moms
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Rachel Griffith
National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition
703-797-1945
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Global Mobile Health Leader Reaches 500,000 Moms
Text4baby celebrates its 3rd birthday and a milestone number of moms connected to health and safety information
WASHINGTON, DC (February 13, 2013) - Since launch in February 2010, text4baby has sent over 62 million text messages to over 500,000 moms nationwide. This proven program’s message content is developed by health experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, March of Dimes, American Academy of Pediatrics, and others. The service was created to help address the overwhelming infant mortality rate in the U.S., with 1 in every 8 babies born prematurely and 28,000 deaths each year. The U.S. ranks near the top among developed nations in infant mortality rates.
Text4baby, a free service of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, was created in partnership with Founding Sponsor Johnson & Johnson, and founding partners Voxiva, CTIA-the Wireless Foundation, and Grey Healthcare Group to help address this issue. Women who text "BABY" (or “BEBE” for Spanish) to 511411 receive three free text messages a week, timed to their due date or their baby's birth date, through pregnancy and up until the baby’s first birthday.
Through the convenience of texting, pregnant women and new mothers can receive personalized appointment reminders, health alerts, and nutrition advice in the palm of their hand. With over 89% of young women owning a cell phone and 97% of cell users checking text messages immediately, text4baby is a perfect fit.
“Text4baby would not have reached 500,000 moms without the overwhelming support of our 900 plus federal, state, local, and corporate partners who extend the text4baby message through their own outreach programs,” said Sarah Ingersoll, Text4baby Director. “Support from our partners and constant analysis of our impact will help text4baby provide even more women with the support they need for a healthy pregnancy and baby.”
A recent George Washington University-led randomized evaluation found that text4baby mothers were nearly three times more likely to believe they were prepared to be new mothers compared to those in the non-text4baby group. A University of California and California State University study demonstrates that text4baby is“increasing users’ health knowledge, facilitating interaction with health providers, improving adherence to appointments and immunizations, and strengthening access to health services.”
“Text4baby really helped me through my pregnancy. And even after I had my son, it updates me when he should have checkups,” said text4baby mom, Shene McDonald. “Without text4baby, I wouldn't know about Whooping cough or when to get flu shots. This service is very helpful during and after pregnancy.”
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About text4baby
Text4baby is the first, free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health through text messaging. A free program of the non-profit National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB), the Founding Sponsor is Johnson & Johnson. Founding partners include Voxiva, CTIA - The Wireless Foundation, and Grey Healthcare Group (a WPP company).Text4baby’s public-private partnership also includes over 900 health departments, academic institutions, health plans, businesses, and the federal government. Women who text "BABY" (or “BEBE” for Spanish) to 511411 receive three free text messages a week, timed to their due date or their baby's birth date, through pregnancy and up until the baby’s first birthday. The messages address topics such as immunization, nutrition, birth defect prevention, and safe sleep.Text4baby is the largest national mobile health initiative reaching over 500,000 moms since launch in 2010. To learn more, please visit text4baby.org.