Long story short: We’re asking for your vote!
Text4baby, the first free service of its kind in the United States, helps pregnant women and new moms get vital information and resources about pregnancy and child development—through simple text messages.
We have an opportunity to share the text4baby story at South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual music, film and interactive conference in Austin next spring. Because public voting is a big part of being selected for the conference, we need your help to make it happen!
Please take two minutes to cast your vote for the text4baby panel and help spread the word about this fantastic program.
- Visit the SXSW website and create an account.
- Then visit our panel page to cast your vote.
Our panel will include the leadership behind the program: the Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition, Voxiva and CTIA-The Wireless Foundation. Here’s the description of our session:
More than 500,000 babies are born prematurely, and an estimated 28,000 children die before their first birthday each year in the U.S. Text4baby, the first free health text messaging service in the U.S., addresses this issue by providing pregnant women and new moms accessible, relevant health information—via text messages. Well on its way to 1 million subscribers, text4baby was created, launched and promoted by an unprecedented, public-private partnership.
Over 85% of Americans own a cell phone, and 72% of cell users send or receive text messages. Yet, the power of these devices as behavior change tools is just being uncovered. Much attention goes to smart phone applications, yet the health needs of low-income and underserved populations are often most pressing. Everyone has a vested interest in child health, yet few programs have garnered support like text4baby. What are the lessons of text4baby? And how can tech, public health, and employer communities learn from its success?
SXSW is held in April each year and features musicians, filmmakers, entrepreneurs and innovators. The Interactive conference has developed a reputation as a breeding ground for new ideas and creative technologies—and this is just their second year of featuring a health track.
We are also excited to be working with text4baby on an employer toolkit—to make it easy for companies to promote the service. We’ll have more info to share soon!
In the meantime, please take a minute to vote. We really appreciate your support!
Thank you!
