Support Via Online Social Networks to Promote Safe Infant Care Practices

New parents — especially first-time mothers — often have many questions about how to keep their baby safe. This study explores whether a social media and texting program can teach pregnant women safer infant care practices, particularly around safe sleep (placing babies on their backs) and feeding. The program, called TodaysBaby, connects mothers through Facebook groups and text messages to deliver evidence-based guidance. To be eligible, participants must be pregnant women (less than 30 weeks along) who speak English, live in the United States, are enrolled in WIC or have Medicaid or no health insurance, and have regular access to Facebook and text messaging. Women who are not planning to live with their baby after birth, whose pregnancies involve conditions that would affect infant care, or who have participated in a similar prior program are not eligible. Participants receive educational content via social media and SMS throughout their pregnancy and after birth. There are no clinic visits or medical procedures involved. This research is important because unsafe infant sleep practices are a leading cause of sudden infant death, and reaching mothers through the tools they already use daily — like their phones — may be one of the most effective ways to promote safer behaviors.