SOURCE: HEALTH MATTERS NEWSLETTER

One of the things we’re trying to do with Kane County Connected is to connect Kane County residents with the services available, often at no charge.

And with Mothers Day coming up in May — and National Women’s Health Week May 11-17 — the Kane County Health Department is listing some of those services in its April “Health Matters” newsletter. To sign up for the free newsletter, click here.

Just one of the programs designed to help new moms and their babies (also great for dads, grandparents, caregivers, and more), is Text4baby. Text4baby provides totally free text messages to a cell phone three times a week with information to help mom through her pregnancy and baby’s first year. Infant mortality has been identified as a threat to our community health and well-being in the KCHD Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). Nationwide, more than 500,000 babies are born prematurely, and 28,000 children die before their first birthday in the U.S.

Signing up is simple: from a cell phone simply text BABY (BEBE para Espanol) to 511411, or sign up online by going to text4baby.org. You can stay active until the newborn celebrates his first birthday. You can cancel at any time. 

So that babies can be born healthy and remain healthy, Text4baby sends:

• tips for the mother’s health timed to the exact week of the pregnancy
• health tips for caring for the infant timed to the baby’s age
• information on recalls on infant products