FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Christine Rogers
(919) 256-9593
Mobile Service Provides Health Tips to Pregnant Women and New Moms
North Carolina Partners with text4baby
(Raleigh, NC) –Text4baby is a new free mobile service providing timely health information to pregnant women and new mothers from pregnancy through a baby's first year. The North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation is one of the first organizations in the state to have signed on as a national partner to promote the service in North Carolina.
Text4baby is an educational program provided by the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition. Women who sign up for the service by texting BABY to 511411 (or BEBE for Spanish) receive three free text messages each week timed to their due date or baby's date of birth. These messages focus on a variety of topics critical to maternal and child health, including birth defects prevention, immunization, nutrition, seasonal flu, mental health, oral health and safe sleep. Text4baby messages also connect women to prenatal and infant care services and other resources.
This initiative is important because North Carolina's infant death rate continues to exceed the national average. The most recent data from the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics (2008) indicate that there were 11,466 preterm births in North Carolina, representing 8.8% of live births. Babies born prematurely are more likely to die or have conditions that may need long-term treatment or therapy. In the same year, 1,066 babies died before their first birthday. While our current initiatives and programs are making an impact to reduce the effects of this public health crisis, there is still much that can be done. This call to action demands new and innovative approaches to decrease the infant mortality rate and improve the health of women in North Carolina.
"National Infant Mortality Awareness Month is coming up in September," said Janice A. Freedman, MPH, Executive Director for the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation. "This is a perfect time to promote text4baby. We hope people will help spread the word about this new service and make a difference in the lives of mothers and babies across our state."
The North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation has created point of purchase stands, promotional cards and posters to promote the new service. The Foundation is collaborating on this project with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health and the North Carolina March of Dimes Chapter.
For additional information about the North Carolina Healthy Start Foundation, visit www.NCHealthyStart.org or visit us on Facebook.
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The N.C. Healthy Start Foundation, a
nonprofit organization established in 1990, conducts
ongoing public education campaigns, advises state and
local policy makers, and provides technical assistance
and professional training focused on reducing infant
death and illness and improving the health of women
and young children in North Carolina.
