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Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer partner with government for SMS health alerts

The United States government partnered with sponsors such as Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to launch a new public-private partnership for text4baby, a free mobile health service for pregnant women and new moms.

The program is designed to promote maternal and child health among underserved women. Text4baby is the first free mobile health service in the United States.

?With the goal of lowering infant mortality rates in the United States, the partners involved in this initiative needed to find the most effective way to communicate with expecting and new moms who are most at risk,? said Tony Holcombe, CEO of Syniverse Technologies, Tampa, FL. ?As it turns out, SMS messages are the perfect way to do this.

?Women of childbearing age and minority populations who face higher infant mortality rates are fairly avid users of SMS,? he said. ?So for the partners in this project, it made perfect sense to take advantage of this mode of communication to share important health information with pregnant women and new moms when they need it most.?

Syniverse, a provider of mobile technology for the global telecommunications industry, is delivering the messages for free.

Baby?s first SMS
By texting the keyword BABY ? or BEBE, Spanish for baby - to the short code 511411, women receive three free text messages each week.

The messages are timed to their due date or the baby's date of birth.

These messages will focus on a variety of topics relating to maternal and child health, such as birth defects prevention, immunization, nutrition, seasonal flu, mental health, oral health and safe sleep.

Text4baby messages can also connect women to prenatal and infant care services and other resources.

Mr. Holcombe said the biggest challenge that the text4baby service addresses is how to effectively communicate with a group of women who are most at risk when it comes to health care during and immediately after a pregnancy.

?We think that SMS will work well,? Mr. Holcombe said. ?Text messaging is immediate, accessible around the clock and, in the case of this program, completely free to the message recipient.?
 
Syniverse?s challenge going forward is spreading the word and getting pregnant women and new moms to register for the program.

Marketing plans for the program include the involvement of various departments of health, public service messages, medical facilities, media, Web site banner ads, social networking and word of mouth.
 
Texts for tots
Founding partners of the text4baby initiative include National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, Voxiva and CTIA - The Wireless Foundation.

MTV Networks is a media sponsor.

The text4baby wireless carriers are providing the communications link of the initiative by distributing text messages to recipients at no charge.

AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon Wireless are just a few of the many carriers that have signed on.

?Verizon Wireless is happy to support text4baby, as it's another great example of how wireless technology can be put to good use in the community and for a great initiative,? said Debra Lewis, a spokeswoman at Verizon Wireless, Basking Ridge, NJ. ?We want to give our customers every opportunity to get this important information at such a critical time in their lives.?

According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control, the infant mortality rate in the U.S. is one of the highest in the industrialized world.

For the first time since the 1950s, the infant mortality rate is on the rise.

Syniverse?s Mr. Holcombe said studies show that mobile health services, such as text4baby, have the ability to help change patient behavior and improve health outcomes.

?Mobile is the most effective way to reach pregnant women and new moms with timely health information that will help them give their babies the best possible start in life,? Mr. Holcombe said. ?You might walk out of the house without your keys or your wallet, but very few people leave behind their mobile phone.

?It?s the only device that we carry with us 24/7,? he said.