Meehan is chief executive officer of Alexandria-based National Healthy Mothers, Healthy, Babies Coalition. One of the organization’s programs, text4baby, has been honored with a Department of Health and Human Services HHSinnovates award.
How did the idea of text4baby come about? Early discussions of text4baby examined where the significant problems lie with respect to infant mortality in the U.S. and the trends in mobile phone use. Women of child-bearing age use text messaging extensively, and in certain populations where poor outcomes are common, text messaging is used even more regularly as a standard form of communication. It seemed like a natural fit to deliver information for free to those who need it most and are least likely to get it.
What kind of information do mothers get?
Moms-to-be and mothers of children under one year receive helpful tips related to maternal and child health. The content, developed with a team of experts and medical professionals, includes information about immunization, nutrition, mental health, oral health, safe sleep and many more. Women register by including their due date or their baby’s birthday, so the messages are customized.
How does it feel to be receivingan award for innovation?
We are truly honored that text4baby was selected as one of the “Secretary’s Picks”
through the HHSinnovates initiative. Text4baby is based on a very broad public-private partnership that includes government, corporations, academic institutions, professional associations, tribal agencies, and nonprofit organizations.
What kind of feedback have you gotten from mothers?
We have over 66,000 users in just six months, so we definitely know that it’s been well-received! We ask women if they would refer the service to a friend, and we see consistently that 94 percent say that they would. … When someone says that our reminders are helping them take care of themselves and their baby, we know we’re making a difference.
— Joey Flechas
