Oklahoma Text4baby Campaign is represented as one of the featured designs at a new exhibition in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City.
The exhibit is called “By the People: Designing a Better America” and Text4baby, the largest mobile health initiative in the nation, is featured as an innovative solution that expands access to education and health care. Text4baby is a free service of ZERO TO THREE and Voxiva, and uses the power of cell phone technology to share important health and safety information with expectant women, new mothers, their partners and loved ones.
Text4baby participants receive customized health information, safety tips, and appointment reminders through text messages – timed to the user’s due date or baby’s birthdate – at no charge. Participants sign up by texting BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411 and receive at least three free text messages a week containing information reviewed by leading national medical organizations and federal partners. Participants who also download the free Text4baby app receive more in-depth information each week.
In Oklahoma, Text4Baby is being promoted by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), OKC-County Health Department (OCCHD), Tulsa Health Department, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Smart Start Oklahoma, and nearly 50 community partners across the state. Text4Baby fits with Oklahoma’s “Preparing for a Lifetime – It’s Everyone’s Responsibility” initiative which is focused on reducing Oklahoma’s poor birth outcomes.
“It is exciting to have innovative and creative methods utilized by the state Preparing for a Lifetime: It’s Everyone’s Responsibility initiative and partners highlighted at the Smithsonian,” states Joyce Marshall, OSDH Maternal and Child Health Director. “However, even more exciting is the benefit the Text4Baby campaign has given to expectant and new mothers with real-time information provided as needed and at critical periods of development to assist in achieving optimal health of Oklahoma mothers and babies.”
The “By the People: Designing a Better America” exhibit highlights the statewide Preparing for a Lifetime campaign and local OCCHD Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) program efforts utilizing Text4baby as a way to help reduce some of the risks associated with high infant mortality.
“Being healthy before, during and in between pregnancies is one of the key factors to reducing infant mortality,” states Kelli McNeal, FIMR Supervisor. “By sending positive health messages to pregnant women all during their pregnancy, they have real time information and resources at their disposal. Text4baby is a valuable tool we use to help educate our pregnant moms. We couldn’t be more excited to have our efforts highlighted at this exhibit.”
The “By the People: Designing a Better America,” exhibit features 60 design projects from every region across the U.S. and runs until February 26, 2017.