A new report by California State University San Marcos researchers finds that the national Text4baby program is helping expectant and new mothers, with 95 percent saying a message informed them of health information that they did not know.
The study by Konane Martinez and Shinya Uekusa demonstrates “the positive impact of Text4baby and the potential impact of mobile health interventions more broadly.”
Text4baby is a free text-message program providing prenatal and first-year health and safety information to its more than 740,000 women nationwide. Subscribers receive three personalized text messages per week timed to their baby’s due date or birthday.
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“Pregnancy and childbirth can be both an exciting time as well as one filled with a lot of questions and uncertainties,” said Martinez, associate professor of medical anthropology. “The results of the survey indicate not only high satisfaction with Text4baby, but that the service is reaching expectant and new mothers most in need for information and access to services.
“The results of the survey are encouraging; participants in the Text4baby service state that they are utilizing the information and resources provided by the service in a positive way.”
Survey results also indicate that Text4baby is successfully reaching and serving uninsured participants and those with lower educational attainment. Nearly half of survey respondents reported that their annual household income was $16,000 or less.
Insights from the survey include:
- 85 percent reported that Text4baby messages informed them of medical warning signs they did not know
- 75 percent reported that the service helped them remember an immunization that they or their child needed
- 46 percent reported that they called a service or phone number that they received from a Text4baby message
- 95 percent reported that Text4baby messages informed them of health information that they did not know
- 65 percent reported talking to their doctor about a topic that they read on a Text4baby message
- 91 percent reported that Text4baby helped them make healthy choices
The data was collected by a telephone survey, sampling 1,171 Text4baby participants who had been enrolled in the service for at least one month.
Text4baby was developed in partnership with founding sponsor Johnson & Johnson and founding partners Voxiva, The Wireless Foundation and Grey Healthcare Group.
