CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. has been named the first national retail partner of text4baby, a free text messaging service for pregnant women and mothers of infants younger than age 1.
The drug chain said Thursday that it will use circular ads, in-store displays and social media to inform pregnant women and new mothers about text4baby. And in the retailer’s wellness stores, wellness ambassador service associates will be on hand to provide information on the program and help mothers enroll.
To mark the new partnership, Rite Aid is offering 10,000 free flu shots to text4baby mothers this flu season.
"Our partnership with text4baby and founding sponsor Johnson & Johnson directly aligns with our commitment to improving the health and well-being of women, our core customer, and their children," John Learish, senior vice president of marketing at Rite Aid, said in a statement. "We’re pleased to be able to use our broad customer base and our associates to help connect women to text4baby and the valuable information it provides to mothers."
Women who text "RABABY" or "RABEBE" to 511411 will get three free text messages per week throughout their pregnancy and baby’s first year, in English or Spanish, respectively. The interactive messages are personalized to the mother’s due date or baby’s birth date. Topics include safety, nutrition, birth defects prevention, safe sleep and developmental milestones, among others.
Text4baby is the nation’s largest mobile health information service, reaching more than 600,000 moms since its launch in 2010. It’s a service of the nonprofit National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition, provided in partnership with Voxiva.
Independent research has demonstrated that text4baby increases users’ health knowledge, fosters increased communication with health providers and increases their preparedness to be a mother by reminding pregnant and new moms of their appointments, Rite Aid reported.
Starting Oct. 15, text4baby will notify those enrolled in the program about the availability of free flu shots from Rite Aid. Mothers who want to get a flu shot will text a reply and receive a code to use at any Rite Aid store to redeem their free flu shot.
"We are excited that Rite Aid is joining us not only to expand the reach of text4baby, but also most importantly, to help mothers, mothers-to-be and their babies stay healthy during their pregnancy and beyond," stated Sarah Colamarino, vice president of strategic partnerships at Johnson & Johnson. "Our long-standing relationship and shared interest in helping women and children live healthier lives makes Rite Aid a perfect partner."
