Partners FAQs
General
Q: What is text4baby?
A: Text4baby is a free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health. An educational program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB), text4baby provides pregnant women and new moms with information to help them care for their health and give their babies the best possible start in life. Women who sign up for the service by texting BABY to 511411 (or BEBE in Spanish) will receive free SMS text messages each week, timed to their due date or baby’s date of birth.
Text4baby is made possible through a broad, public-private partnership that includes government, corporations, academic institutions, professional associations, tribal agencies and non-profit organizations. Founding partners include HMHB, Voxiva, CTIA - The Wireless Foundation and Grey Healthcare Group (a WPP company). Johnson & Johnson is the founding sponsor, and premier sponsors include WellPoint, Pfizer and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. U.S. government partners include the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense Military Health System. The mobile health platform is provided by Voxiva and free messaging services are generously provided by participating wireless service providers. Implementation partners include BabyCenter, Danya International, Syniverse Technologies, Keynote Systems and The George Washington University. MTV Networks is a media sponsor.
Q: How do women sign up?
A: Women sign up for the service by texting BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411.
Programmatic
Partners
Q: Is there a cost association with being an Outreach Partner?
A: No. The only costs associated are related to promotional activities the partner chooses to do.
Q: Who needs to sign the MOU?
A: The person who signs the MOU must be authorized to enter into a legal agreement with HMHB.
Some examples of promotional activities include:
Messages
Promotional Materials
Technical
If the individual does have service with a participating carrier and it is not working, please try registering online at www.text4baby.org.
A: No. There are no commercial messages.
General
Q: What is text4baby?
A: Text4baby is a free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health. An educational program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB), text4baby provides pregnant women and new moms with information to help them care for their health and give their babies the best possible start in life. Women who sign up for the service by texting BABY to 511411 (or BEBE in Spanish) will receive free SMS text messages each week, timed to their due date or baby’s date of birth.Text4baby is made possible through a broad, public-private partnership that includes government, corporations, academic institutions, professional associations, tribal agencies and non-profit organizations. Founding partners include HMHB, Voxiva, CTIA - The Wireless Foundation and Grey Healthcare Group (a WPP company). Johnson & Johnson is the founding sponsor, and premier sponsors include WellPoint, Pfizer and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. U.S. government partners include the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense Military Health System. The mobile health platform is provided by Voxiva and free messaging services are generously provided by participating wireless service providers. Implementation partners include BabyCenter, Danya International, Syniverse Technologies, Keynote Systems and The George Washington University. MTV Networks is a media sponsor.
Q: How do women sign up?
A: Women sign up for the service by texting BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411.Programmatic
Q: When did text4baby launch?
A: Text4baby launched nationally on February 4, 2010.Q: Is there a text4baby website?
A: The website is www.text4baby.org. Participants can register for the service on the website. There is also a Partner Portal at http://text4baby.ning.com, where organizations can download promotional tools.Partners
Q: What is an Outreach Partner?
A: Outreach Partners have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition agreeing to abide by graphics guidelines and promote the service. Benefits to partners include access to text4baby logo and Adobe InDesign art files for customization, recognition on the text4baby website and in select communications, and free promotional materials (posters) while supplies last. Potential partners can download the MOU online at http://text4baby.ning.com/notes/Toolkits.Q: How do I find out more about becoming an Outreach Partner?
A: Find out more by emailing us at partners@text4baby.org. In addition, we hold biweekly webinars with information about becoming a partner. Our e-newsletter, Text4baby Tuesday, has webinar information each week. Sign up by going to http://eepurl.com/h9h3.Q: Is there a cost association with being an Outreach Partner?
A: No. The only costs associated are related to promotional activities the partner chooses to do. Q: Who needs to sign the MOU?
A: The person who signs the MOU must be authorized to enter into a legal agreement with HMHB.Q: Where do I send the signed MOU?
A: You can email the signed MOU to partners@text4baby.org or fax it to 703-684-5968.Q: Does an organization have to sign an MOU to promote text4baby?
A: No. Anyone can spread the word about text4baby by encouraging the women they reach to sign up for the service.Some examples of promotional activities include:
- Adding text4baby information to your website
- Including text4baby information in your mailings, listserv or newsletter
- Displaying text4baby posters in your facilities
- Promoting text4baby through public health or wellness campaigns
- Encouraging service use among your employees
- Any other ways you can think of to spread the word
Q: Is technical assistance available to Outreach Partners?
A: Yes, we are available to provide limited technical assistance to Outreach Partners. Email partners@text4baby.org.Q: How do we know if there is a partner in our state already involved?
A: You can view the full list of Outreach Partners online at www.text4baby.org and http://text4baby.ning.com. If you’d like more information, contact partners@text4baby.org.Q: How do I sign up for the weekly Text4baby Tuesday e-newsletter?
A: You can sign up for the e-newlsetter by visiting http://eepurl.com/h9h3. You will receive weekly updates about the program, including text4baby enrollment information (with data by state), media coverage and partners’ activities.Messages
Q: How were the text messages developed and reviewed?
A: Text4baby pregnancy and infant messages were developed by the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB) in collaboration with federal partners, physicians and nurses and national medical organizations.Q: Will we see the text messages before we sign on as a partner?
A: Yes, partners have the opportunity to see the text messages. Please note that the messages are copyrighted, and we ask that partners do not distribute the messages outside of their organizations.Promotional Materials
Q: How can I get promotional materials?
A: At this time, HMHB can provide bulk orders of free posters to signed partners while supplies last, thanks to the generous support of Johnson & Johnson. Additional printed materials (including referral cards) will be available online for sale soon. Signed partners are also able to use the art files to have their own customized materials printed. For more information, please email partners@text4baby.org. To view the promotional materials and download PDFs, please visit http://text4baby.ning.com.Q: Do promotional materials say that the text4baby service is free?
A: Yes. The materials also list the participating wireless carriers. To view the promotional materials and download PDFs, please visit http://text4baby.ning.com.Q: Will outreach partners receive funding to disseminate text4baby promotional materials?
A: At this time, there are no additional funds to provide to partners with funding for printing or dissemination.Technical
Q: Are the text messages free for people who have pay-as-you-go or pre-paid cell phones?
A: Yes, as long as the user is subscribed to one of the text4baby mobile operator partners, she will be able to access text4baby and not be charged for this service.Q: Someone I know believes she was charged for the text messages. What should she do?
A: Anyone who believes they have been wrongly charged for the text messages should contact their wireless provider immediately.Q: I am trying to sign someone up for text4baby and it won’t work. Why not?
A: The service is blocked on phones that do not have service with one of the participating wireless carriers. If you are familiar with wireless carriers that are not currently participating in text4baby, please email info@text4baby.org.If the individual does have service with a participating carrier and it is not working, please try registering online at www.text4baby.org.
Q: If participants change phone services (without carrying over the same phone number) or have inconsistent phone service, will they need to re-register when the phone is back on?
A: Yes, participants will need to re-register.Q: How do participants select their preferred language for the messages?
A: Participants can sign up for text4baby in English by texting BABY to 511411. They can sign up for text4baby in Spanish by texting BEBE to 511411.Q: What information will be collected from the participant in the initial registration process?
A: The text4baby service collects phone number, zip code and due date or baby’s birth date. This information is used to provide the messaging services and is not used for any commercial purposes.Q: Are participants able to forward messages to friends?
A: Participants can forward the messages to others directly from their phones.Q: What happens if a participant loses their phone or changes their phone number?
A: They will need to re-register for the service.Q: What does a user do if her due date changes?
A: If her due date changes, she can update her due date by texting the word UPDATE to 511411. The timeline and content of her messages will be adjusted to her new date.Q: How do users unsubscribe from text4baby?
A: To stop receiving texts from the text4Baby service, users simply text the word STOP to 511411 from the same phone they use to get the messages.Q: Will there be advertisements in the text messages? Is participant information shared with advertisers?
A: No. There are no commercial messages.
Q: Will anyone regardless of trimester in pregnancy or child’s age be able to sign up?
A: Yes, pregnant women can subscribe to the service at any point in pregnancy, and mothers of children under one year can sign up at any point during their baby’s first year.Q: Will text4baby be interactive? Can women ask questions?
A: No, text4baby is currently designed as a one-way, broadcast educational service. It does not allow for interactivity.Q: How can clients cancel the service in case of adverse outcomes?
A: A user can text STOP to 511411 to stop receiving messages. Per industry guidelines, the cancellation instructions are sent with many of the messages. The reason why a person cancels the service is never asked nor collected. Text4baby does not ask follow-up questions once the participant has opted out of the service.Q: The mobile companies allow the mother to access the text messages free of charge but who pays for sending them?
A: This is a free-to-end-user system. Even if the participant has a text messaging plan, there will be no deduction from that plan. The participating mobile operators have agreed to make this a free service.Q: Are any of the text message gender neutral to allow fathers to receive messages?
A: The messages are currently focused on mothers. However, anyone who might find value in the information may register to receive them.Q: Are there localized messages?
A: Text4baby is currently a national program, so the information provided refers to nationally-available resources. In a number of messages, we refer to HRSA’s 1-800-311-BABY hotline, which connects users with local services. In the future we plan to develop the capacity for delivery of localized messages.Q: How do users know that text4baby is free?
A: Promotional materials and outreach communications emphasize that text4baby is a free service. In addition, each text messages begins with “Free msg” to remind users that this is a free message delivered at no cost to them.Q: Where does the participant access technical assistance if needed?
A: A user can text HELP for technical assistance. Participants can also visit www.text4baby.org for additional information.Q: How long will women receive free text messages?
A: Text4baby is designed for pregnant women through their pregnancy and the first year of their baby’s life. The service is scheduled to run through the end of 2011. All participants will receive free text messages through the end of 2011.Powered by: 