Text4Baby Mobile Services Gives New Moms Health Updates

What every mother wants for Mother’s Day: healthy children. A free mobile service called Text4Baby sends breaking health information to new and expecting mothers.

Participants in the program receive between one and three text messages each week informing them of health alerts or offering advice for breastfeeding, labor or other prenatal issues. The alerts also provide reminders for thing such as taking prenatal vitamins and scheduling check-ups.

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To sign-up for Text4Baby, simply visit the website, or from your cellphone text BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411. The next step is to enter your baby’s birthdate or due date if you’re expecting, plus your zip code. Whether you’re expecting your first child or you’re already a mom, the text messages will cater to your profile. Once you have your baby, or if your due date changes, users can text UPDATE to the same number and change their profile. The service lasts until your child is one year old.

In November 2011, researchers at the University of San Diego school of medicine analyzed the effectiveness of the Text4Baby program. The study resulted in some compelling findings:

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The program launched in 2010, and so far more than 323,000 people have signed-up to receive health updates. The service was founded by Johnson Johnson and CTIA — The Wireless Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization. Health information for the text program is provided by Johnson Johnson and its partner, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies.

CTIA helps to make text messages free, even if moms don’t have a free texting plan. This program also won’t tap into a person’s text message limit if she has one of the plans listed on the site.

“Today, mothers have their cellphones attached at their hips, so it’s an easy way to reach women all over the country,” a spokesperson for Johnson Johnson told Mashable.

What do you think about Text4Baby? Tell us in the comments.

Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, SquaredPixels‬

This story originally published on Mashable here.

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