Text4baby Russia: Partnering to Keep our Mothers and Newborns Healthy

Today I visited an amazing and hopeful place in Moscow – the Kulakov Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology – one of Russia’s leading centers for maternal and child health.  While there I had the chance to tour the Center – and most importantly to meet several new mothers and babies.  I was pleased to learn about the important strides being made in maternal and infant health in Russia – and to see the living proof of these efforts on my visit.

While at the Center today, I also had the chance to witness the announcement of a new partnership to create text4baby Russia, a free mobile health information service promoting maternal and child health through text messages.  Text4baby Russia is similar to the text4baby service that was launched in the United States last year. The U.S. and Russian partners have been working together since last year to share technical expertise and best practices in using text messaging programs to improve the health of expecting and new mothers. 

It was heartening to see this example of American partners – private sector and non-profit – working with Russian colleagues to learn from each other to tackle common problems. We must use every tool we have to keep our mothers and newborns healthy – and this is a promising step.

The text4baby Russia service is scheduled to start sending messages to moms later this year. As a mother and a grandmother – I congratulate all of those working on maternal health issues, and look forward to celebrating the growth of the text4baby program.