A few months ago, Johnson & Johnson South Africa, together with the Department of Health, BabyCenter (a J&J Company) and the Praekelt Foundation, launched MomConnect, a cellphone-based messaging service to provide pregnant women with free antenatal healthcare information.
The aim is to register as many pregnant women with MomConnect, which will provide info and tips on pregnancy, plus a platform to notify the department about poor service.
The text messages are sent in a language of choice, without the need for internet connectivity, and will include things such as reminders of when to go for checkups, what to expect each week of pregnancy, and information after birth such as caring for baby, and when to go for vaccines.
In preparation for the launch of MomConnect, the department, with the help of development partners, trained 10 300 health workers nationally to help pregnant women to register.
“In the coming weeks, every health facility in the country will have at least one person who is trained and whose job will be to assist and register pregnant women,” Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.
The cellphone operators including Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom are offering a 50% discount on the SMSes being sent to pregnant mothers.
MomConnect was launched at an event with J&J, along with South African minister of health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, US ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard, plus other MomConnect partners, BabyCenter and Praekelt Foundation.
Minister Moetseledi flanked by senior leadership of the J&J family of companies in South Africa
Minister Aaron Moetseledi launches MomConnect
Guests at the MomConnect launch collect educational leaflets on the various stages of pregnancy and infant skincare
