In Canada today, less than 30% of expectant parents attend childbirth classes. Barriers to attendance include cost, lack of instructors, inclement weather and geography in rural areas, and stigma. formation online is overwhelming and contradictory.
People are looking for trustworthy information. Attendance at prenatal education classes has been associated with positive health behaviors, including appropriate weight gain, attendance at prenatal care, acceptance of routine screening tests, smoking cessation, decreased alcohol consumption, and breastfeeding. Failure to achieve these behaviors in turn has been associated with adverse maternal and newborn outcomes including cesarean birth, preterm birth, and inadequate fetal growth.
This webinar will present SmartParent, Canada’s first prenatal and parenting education program delivered through text messaging.
SmartParent makes evidence-based, relevant and timely information available to all parents, regardless of location, socioeconomic status, and education. Text messages containing comprehensive information relevant to each week of pregnancy or baby’s age are delivered to mobile devices three times weekly. Each message contains links to additional online resources. SmartParent users can opt in to supplementary information streams to tailor the program to their own needs.
Unlike other digital solutions such as apps, blogs, and websites, our text messages bring the right message to the right person at the right time. SmartParent users have lower rates of depression and fear of childbirth, less use of cannabis and tobacco, and reduced rates of complications including diabetes and inadequate fetal growth, and improved confidence as new parents.
Presented by:
Dr. Patricia Janssen
Dr. Janssen is a Professor in the University of British Columbia School of Population and Public Health. She is a Perinatal Epidemiologist and Senior Scientist at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Trained in nursing and midwifery, Dr. Janssen leads a Centre of Research Excellence entitled Advancing the Science of Physiologic Birth. Patricia is currently studying the utility of SMS text messaging as a modality to improve health literacy and motivate health behavior change among expectant and new parents. Most recently, she has developed and implemented SmartParent, Canada’s first prenatal and parent education program delivered by text messaging. She is a past recipient of the YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Research in the Sciences and in 2020 was named one of the top 50 Changemakers in Public Health among alumni of the University of Washington School of Public Health. She was recognized by UBC in 2022 with a Faculty of Medicine Distinguished Achievement Award for Service to the University and Community.
Earn One Continuing Education Unit (CEU) for attending this webinar. Content from the webinar aligns with Core Health Informatics Topics: The Canadian Healthcare System, Information Technology, Analysis and Evaluation
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