In honor of National Infant Mortality Awareness Month, the LaGrange Housing Authority is encouraging residents to use Text4baby, which is offering an enrollment contest and other initiatives during the month of September.

Text4baby, a free service that provides health and safety tips and resources to expectant mothers and moms with babies under 1 year old, is the largest mobile health initiative in the country and in two and a half years has enrolled more than 400,000 moms in the service.

“We, the LaGrange Housing Authority, are committed to the following core values: sensitivity to the needs of clients; customer satisfaction; confidentiality; treating others ethically; teamwork; honesty and integrity; the spirit of excellence; effective management; professional attitude; staff empowerment; trustworthiness; accountability; and continuous learning,” said LHA executive director Pat Pittman. “These core values propel our efforts in supporting the Text4baby program and Infant Mortality Awareness Month.”

In the United States, six in 1,000 babies die before their first birthday. By providing pregnant women and mothers of infants with free, accurate and easy-to-understand health information via text message, the program aims for more mothers to connect with resources, care and knowledge to make the best choices for their children.

Those who sign up for Text4baby this month will be entered to win a year’s supply of Johnson’s baby products. Pregnant women and mothers of children under 1 year old can enroll by texting BABY – or BEBE for Spanish – to 511411.

“The LaGrange Housing Authority’s mission is to provide affordable, quality housing for low to moderate income persons and to improve their quality of life,” Pittman said. “This includes bringing an awareness of the importance of having healthy mothers and healthy babies.”