by Mission Motherhood posted in Parenting

In many places of the world, when a woman gets pregnant it?s time to start a baby registry, decorate a nursery, and send out announcements so she can joyfully rally friends and family around her family?s impending new addition.
But in India?s poorest neighborhoods, pregnancy is very different. Young mothers, many of whom are in their teens, go through their entire pregnancy almost alone. Afraid of authority, many don?t seek help from a doctor -- or even understand why they should -- until they?re almost ready to deliver. And since many of these women can barely read and lack access to technology, they can?t even turn to the internet for answers and help.
But these young moms-to-be do have a lifeline -- literally. Most families are able to scrape together enough money to have one mobile phone, which everyone in the family shares. That?s how mobile messaging service mMitra is able to help over half a million pregnant women and new moms in India. mMitra is a project of ARMMAN, a nonprofit organization committed to improving the well-being of pregnant mothers, newborn infants, and children in the first 5 years of their life. Johnson & Johnson is a principle partner in the mMitra program. mMitra sends free voice messages to women twice a week, targeted to each woman?s stage of pregnancy or the age of her infant. These messages, written in collaboration with BabyCenter, let her know, for instance, that her baby now has hair, or that...