- Health information delivered via free text messages to pregnant women and new moms
- Promotes maternal and child health
- Will tie in to CIGNA’s Healthy Pregnancies, Healthy BabiesSM program
BLOOMFIELD, Conn., May 12, 2010 – CIGNA has signed on as an outreach partner of the text4baby program, a national initiative to deliver vital health information via free text messages to pregnant women and new mothers, with the goal of helping women have healthy pregnancies and deliver healthy newborns. Text4baby is a program of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB).
Women can sign up for the service by texting BABY (or BEBE for Spanish) to 511411. Beginning the next day, they’ll receive a free, daily message for six days. After that, the service will provide three free messages each week, timed to the mom’s due date or her baby’s date of birth.
CIGNA will promote the text4baby program through its own Healthy Pregnancies, Healthy BabiesSM program, which gives expectant mothers information and support throughout pregnancy; through CIGNA’s 24-hour nurse line; and through myCIGNA.com, CIGNA’s personalized Web site for people enrolled in a CIGNA health plan.
“We’re delighted that CIGNA has joined our efforts to promote this innovative mobile-based service, and we commend CIGNA for all it does to help improve maternal and infant health,” said Judy Meehan, executive director of the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition.
“Nothing is more important than the delivery of healthy, full-term babies,” said Dr. Alan Fleischman, senior vice president and medical director for the March of Dimes, which CIGNA has backed as a national sponsor for 16 years. “We applaud CIGNA for its longstanding commitment to healthy babies and its support of the text4baby program.”
“Healthy babies start with a healthy pregnancy, and healthy pregnancies start with quality prenatal care and access to good information,” said Jeff Kang, M.D., CIGNA’s chief medical officer. “The text4baby program delivers timely information to expectant or new mothers in an innovative way, and we are pleased to support these efforts to help improve the health of both mother and child.”
The text4baby program is supported by numerous businesses throughout the country. U.S. government partners include the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Department of Health and Human Services. The mobile health platform is provided by Voxiva and free messaging services are generously provided by participating wireless service providers.
More information about text4baby is available at http://www.text4baby.org/.
About CIGNA
CIGNA (NYSE:CI), a global health service company, is dedicated to helping people improve their health, well being and sense of security. CIGNA Corporation’s operating subsidiaries provide an integrated suite of medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and vision care benefits, as well as group life, accident and disability insurance, to approximately 46 million people throughout the United States and around the world. To learn more about CIGNA, visit www.cigna.com.
