New or pregnant moms no longer will have to search the Internet for breast-feeding inquiries or ring up grandparents for bottle-feeding questions.
They'll be able to text their questions and concerns to the Wood County Health Department's new You and Your Baby Textline for help.
"It's a texting service where pregnant women, new moms or anyone with questions (about babies) can text to Wood County Health Department, and the staff will send them an answer to their question," said Leah Meidl, a public health nurse for the department.
The text line is one of the first services of its kind in the area and is just launching, Meidl said. Those who text questions to 36263 and include the word "BABY" in the message, will receive a response from a team of health professionals.
"We have a staff of six different people -- four nurses and two health educators," Meidl said. "And we're all on the parent-child health team."
For questions the department can't answer, they'll advise the sender to contact her child's physician or pediatrician.
"I think it's a great resource," said Amber France, 27, of Wisconsin Rapids.
France, a new mom of 5-month-old Odyn, said there are plenty of questions new moms have as they work their way through early parenting.
"There are some things like breast-feeding, with wanting to know if it was normal if he was nursing longer than usual or went longer periods without nursing," said France, who is a health educator at the department. "And of course, I had immunization questions."
The Wisconsin Women's, Infants and Children nutrition program, also known as WIC, has a similar texting hotline, but only people enrolled in that program can use it, France said.
When parents text the hotline, they'll receive an automatic response thanking them for their questions and letting them know that immediate concerns should be directed toward physicians.
"We're seeing an increased usage of texting, especially with the younger generation," Meidl said. "And we want to reach out to people and offer a new way for them to ask questions. Sometimes, a phone call is not as easy as sending a quick text message. Plus, it's anonymous, so they don't have to worry about feeling any judgment with their question."
Texts will be addressed Monday through Friday during the Health Department's regular business hours. Answers to weekend questions might take 24 to 72 hours.
The service is free, but usual text messaging rates apply. Element Mobile users might not receive a response because of a glitch in the company's system, Meidl said.
