Public Information Office
(603) 271-9388
May 18, 2012
Concord, NH – In honor of Mother's Day and National Women's Health Week, the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services announced today its participation in the 2012 Text4baby State Enrollment Contest, a national competition to enroll pregnant women and new mothers in the text4baby program. The official launch of the Contest was announced today as part of a Congressional Briefing in Washington, DC, which was co-hosted by Senators Ayotte (R-NH), Carper (D-DE), Cochran (R-MS), and Landrieu (D-LA). The New Hampshire WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator, Lissa Sirois, also spoke at the Congressional Briefing about the collaborative work New Hampshire has done to promote text4baby.
Text4baby, the country's first free health education program in the form of text messages, provides timely tips and expert advice directly to the cell phones of pregnant women and new moms. Pregnant women and new mothers who text “BABY” (or “BEBE” for Spanish) to 511411 receive weekly text messages, timed to their due date or their baby's birth date, through the baby’s first year. The messages, which have been developed by government and non-profit health experts such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Pediatrics, cover nutrition, immunizations, breastfeeding, and birth defect prevention, among other health topics.
"The Division of Public Health Services is pleased to partner with the text4baby initiative to give expectant and new mothers critical information they need so they can take charge of their health and the health of their babies,” said Public Health Director, Dr. Jose Montero.
The United States has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the industrialized world. Each year in the U.S. more than 500,000 babies are born prematurely and an estimated 28,000 children die before their first birthday. In response to this national public health crisis, the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) launched text4baby in partnership with founding sponsor Johnson & Johnson, Voxiva, CTIA-The Wireless Foundation, Grey Healthcare Group (a WPP company), the nation’s wireless carriers, and the U.S. government.
In its first two years, text4baby has already reached more than 335,000 users nationwide, including 2,500 users in New Hampshire, thanks to its unprecedented public–private partnership. By engaging a vast network of over 775 text4baby Outreach Partners around the country, including fourteen in New Hampshire, the Contest aims to reach even more women through healthy competition among the states.
A number of formal evaluations of Text4baby are underway to determine its impact on the knowledge and behaviors of its users. An early evaluation conducted in San Diego County, California with interviews and phone surveys of 160 women indicated that text4baby is increasing user's health knowledge, facilitating interaction with their health providers, improving adherence to appointments and immunizations, and improving access to health services.
The top three states to enroll the most users by population between May 17 and October 22, 2012 will be announced and recognized during the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California in late October. Last year, New Hampshire won 2nd place in the enrollment contest. New Hampshire currently leads the nation for total enrollment of unique users since the launch of the text4baby program on February 2, 2010.
For more information about text4baby, WIC, and the Division of Public Health Services visit www.dhhs.nh.gov/dphs/index.htm. For more information about the national text4baby program visit www.text4baby.org.
Community programs, hospitals, healthcare providers, and new moms are encouraged to contact the New Hampshire text4baby program for enrollment posters and brochures. Emails may be sent to text4baby@dhhs.state.nh.us.