Tag Archives: new parents

Happy Third Birthday, Text4Baby!

partner button_300x250When Text4Baby first came on the scene, I was very excited. Here was a service that offered moms, for free, information about their infants and motherhood which would come straight to their phones. No signing into email or having to go to a website, just sign up for the service and BAM. Valuable information about your baby comes right to your phone. What’s really cool is that Text4Baby includes information about Postpartum Depression as well!

They turn three this month and I am thrilled to wish them a Happy Third Birthday! Text4Baby has grown quite a bit from a small service to a network of over 900 partners.

Here are a few wonderful facts about Text4Baby:

  • Text4baby is a free service that delivers three text messages a week to pregnant women and moms with children up to 1 year old. The text messages are timed to the mother’s due date or the age of her child.
  • A recent study by GW found that moms who used text4baby were “nearly three times more likely to believe that they were prepared to be new mothers”
  • A study by UC San Diego found that 63.1% of women reported that text4baby helped them remember an appointment or immunization that they or their child needed; 75.4% reported that text4baby messages informed them of medical warning signs they did not know; 71.3% reported talking to their doctor about a topic that they read on a text4baby message.
  • Text4baby is a collaboration of 900 partners. A comprehensive list can be found here.
  • 95% of women who use text4baby would refer the service to a friend

I haven’t used Text4Baby as when they began, my youngest was just a little over two years old so I was out of the target audience range.

As the founder of #PPDChat (which also turns 3 this year, incidentally – in May!), I am all for any technology which helps provide solid information and support to moms. Text4Baby does just that!

I hope you’ll join me in wishing an amazing service a Happy Birthday. May Text4Baby continue to grow and make a difference in the lives of mothers & babies!

I did not receive any compensation for this post. @Text4Baby approached me about writing a post and I happily accepted because I believe in what they do for new parents.

Pennsylvania Hospital Encourages Quiet Bonding Time for new parents

"Mom and baby" by justhiggy @ flickr

"Mom and baby" by justhiggy @ flickr

Mount Nittany Medical Center has instituted a new policy – Quiet Bonding Time for new parents between 1:00p.m. and 3:00p.m. Visitors are allowed but encouraged to respect the wishes of new parents wishing to take advantage of this bonding time. They are also required to place their cell phones on vibrate and use low talking voices. Non-urgent care is also placed on a hold during these hours.You can read the article for more information here.

I think this is a wonderful idea and hope more and more hospitals implement this practice in their Maternity wings. Not only is there a ton of research extolling the importance of Mom and Baby having time to themselves to bond but if new parents are given the chance to see the difference it makes prior to heading home, maybe more parents will realize that it’s ok to say no to visitors during those all important first weeks home. And let’s also remember that new moms who aren’t as fatigued are less likely to experience postpartum depression as well.