Health Professionals / Health Services - Pregnancy / Newborns

SmartParent is Canada’s first prenatal and parenting education program delivered through text messaging. It overcomes barriers of rural and remote location, lack of instructors, and cost, to deliver messages to mobile phones right when they are needed. Text messages arrive in your phone three times weekly, each containing links to additional online resources. Messages addresses topics such as what to expect during pregnancy, preparation for labour and birth, infant growth and development, feeding, language acquisition, safety, vaccinations, social adjustment and adjustment to parenthood. Users can opt in to supplementary information streams for topics such as weight management, depression, information for new immigrants, smoking cessation, and others. SmartParent is endorsed by The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and Canadian Paediatric Society. BC Health Authorities, Perinatal Services BC, Child Health BC, the BC Ministry of Health, the First Nations Health Authority and parents in BC participated in the development of SmartParent, led by Dr. Patricia Janssen at the UBC School of Population and Public Health. Over 18,000 users have enrolled in SmartParent in BC. more info