By Crystal Swann
September 17, 2012

September marks National Infant Mortality Awareness Month, and is a time to reflect on those families who have lost a child far too soon. According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, infant mortality rates in cities have consistently been higher than the rate nationwide. In 2006, the infant mortality rate in U.S. cities was 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 6.7 per 1,000 for the nation as a whole. Even more troubling is the fact that health disparities linger: black babies in the U.S. die at a rate more than twice that of their white counterparts- statistics that reflect a true health crisis. Poor birth outcomes are not only a tragedy for the families impacted by them, they also add stress to cities’ healthcare systems, as the societal economic costs (medical, educational, and lost productivity) associated with poor birth outcomes are exceptionally high.

Providing mothers with the best possible information and access to care can help. One of the most innovative initiatives to help address factors that contribute to cities’ high infant mortality rates is text4baby. Text4baby provides pregnant women and moms with infants with three, FREE text messages a week timed to their due date or baby’s date of birth. The messages provide essential health information, in English or Spanish, about prenatal care, immunizations, safe sleep, avoidance of substance abuse, well- baby care, injury prevention and other critical health and safety issues. Text4baby is reaching women who need health information the most at a time when it’s crucial, through a medium that is easy, convenient and standard for the 81% of adult women in the U.S. who have cell phones.

Text4baby is a public-private partnership of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, with support from Johnson & Johnson, the Founding Sponsor of the program, Voxiva, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. CTIA-The Wireless Foundation engaged the major U.S. mobile operators to make text4baby a free service for all subscribers (even those without a texting plan). Additionally, over 800 Outreach Partners are spreading the word across the country, including state and local health departments, businesses, community health centers, health plans, nonprofits, major medical associations, and more.

Since the program launched in 2010, text4baby has reached over 400,000 moms with accurate and timely health information that mothers need, and the service is making a difference. Research from California State University, San Marcos and the University of California, San Diego found that text4baby is increasing users’ health knowledge, facilitating interaction with their health providers, improving their adherence to appointments and immunizations, and improving their access to health services.

As cities around the country recognize infant mortality month in September, mayors can make a difference by letting their constituents know about text4baby and urging pregnant women and new moms to enroll. By including text4baby in communications with constituents, mayors have an opportunity to share a powerful resource that is completely free of charge.

For more information about how your city can get involved, contact Text4Baby.org at info@text4baby.org or visit www.text4baby.org.