The IWK Health Centre and Nova Scotia Health Public Health are excited to launch the pilot of the SmartParent program.
SmartParent is a free text message service that guides expectant parents through pregnancy and the first year of their child’s life. Developed in collaboration with pregnancy and child health experts, SmartParent provides trustworthy guidance and suggests crucial topics for discussion with healthcare providers. It also provides recommendations for additional information and resources available both online and within local communities. Parents enroll in the free service using a cell phone number. They will receive three current, evidence-based, educational text messages per week to help guide them through each week of pregnancy. All links and information have been verified by Nova Scotia healthcare providers to ensure the information is accurate and applicable to parents in our province. SmartParent is endorsed by The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) and the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS).
We are requesting your support from our healthcare and community partners in the pilot program in sharing the details of this valuable prenatal resource with colleagues, patients, and families. Additional information is available for parents on the IWK website and for care providers on the SmartParent website. SmartParent has also provided posters which can be downloaded and posted in public spaces and online. Please encourage your perinatal patients and clients to sign up for SmartParent so they can benefit from the information shared throughout this transformational time in their lives.
Enrollment can be completed by texting the keyword ‘Baby’ to 12323 or by going to www.smartparent.ca and clicking ‘Enroll Now’.
