1. RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute www.rti.org iDelivery and Media Moms-to-Be: The Role of Social Media in Childbirth Presented by Julia Kish-Doto, PhD, MS RTI International, Rockville, MD Presented at 9 th Annual Regional Perinatal Forum Conference Tarrytown, NY November 3, 2010 Phone 301-468-8280 Fax 301-230-4647 e-mail jkdoto@rti.org

2. Objectives 1.Identify social media sources women use for health information 2.Describe the role of social media and marketing in women’s health decision making 3.Provide examples of how to use social marketing to communicate with and educate patients 2

3. Social Media and Network Examples Blogspot Flickr Twitter Facebook YouTube Wikipedia Foursquare 3

4. Women’s Use of Social Media—Overall The Oxygen Media Insights Group studied 1,600 women aged 18 to 34 (RBR, 2010): 34% say checking Facebook is the first thing they do in the morning 57% admit to talking to people online more than face to face 48% find out about news through Facebook more often than from traditional news outlets 73% say Facebook is “me time” 4

5. Moms in Particular Control large segment of social market “Power moms”– women between the ages of 25 and 54 who have at least one child under the age of 18 in the home – represent 19% of the total online population (Nielsen Online, 2009) Can be segmented by their “social” habits 5

6. Profile of Social Moms (i.e., moms using social media) Measured by “influence”  How often social moms post or comment on social networks BabyCenter.com 2010 report  18% of moms who use social media account for 78% of the influence 6

7. Use of Social Media during Labor Growing incidence of the following activities during labor: Tweeting Texting Talking on a cell phone Recording and posting in real time via webcams 7

8. Why? To feel less alone As a distraction Because they can! 8

9. Possible Implications Benefits  Expose future moms to positive birth experience  Increase knowledge of childbirth process Drawbacks  Provider concerns about litigation  Instilling fear in moms-to-be  Questions about baby’s privacy rights  Boundaries of social etiquette 9

10. You Said It “Facebook friends: My doctor is sewing up my episiotomy now. Thank God I can’t feel a thing!” “OMG! I can’t handle another contraction! Where’s my epidural?! Somebody get me some DRUGS!” (sent via iPhone) »From Glynn, pregnancy360.com, 2010 10

11. The Problem Data on the impact of women’s preferences on delivery mode and their decision-making processes for delivery are limited A woman’s planned delivery preferences may not be the most predominant factor in the actual delivery 11

12. Influencing Factors Other external factors beyond a woman’s physical state: Health care providers Insurance companies Hospital protocols Childbirth educators Family, friends Media 12

13. Behavior Change Commercial marketers spend significant amounts of money examining the behaviors of their audience... …and getting people to change them. 13

14. Related Example Umbilical cord banking Original idea in 1988 from not-for-profit Today, companies have generated a “need” for the service (Prue & Daniel, 2006) 14

15. There’s an App for That! 15

16. Moms-to-Be Information Seeking Moms often turn to the Internet for health information before any other media source Motherhood is the number one trigger for social media use 16

17. The Good News Despite openness to social networking for health information, people typically connect with known acquaintances (Uhrig, Bann, Williams, & Evans, 2010) 17

18. The Challenge Difficult for health care to compete Motivational interviewing  Defined as changing what patients want to change  What if they don’t want to change?  Is the communicating audience/society better off? 18

19. Potential Solutions Piggyback on existing market research  Use the same media channels  Initiate discussions Upstream versus downstream approach  Work with insurance companies, policy makers, hospitals 19

20. Exposure and Awareness Women are not typically exposed to normal, uncomplicated vaginal births  Media, provider’s offices, family, friends Women may be unaware of childbirth education philosophies and practices supporting low- intervention vaginal births 20

21. Is It Tweet-Worthy? Women rely heavily on social networks for health information, including childbirth knowledge (CDC, 2009) Societal fascination with birth  Unexpected  Unplanned  Complicated deliveries 21

22. Current Social Marketing Programs Text4Baby www.childcount.org Preconception health programs  READY-Girl 22

23. Patient-Provider Communication How can providers use this information to reduce unnecessary or elective Cesarean sections? 23

24. Market to Your Audience Questions to consider: What is your office protocol to discuss preconception care with patients? How is information delivered to/received from pregnant patients? What questions are included in your electronic health records (EHR) system? 24

25. Recommendations “Bundle” your messages  In discussions  On your office Web site Foster a social network of communication about childbirth Provide a list of links and sites to local childbirth resources 25

26. Recommendations (cont’d) Ask questions about childbirth preference early and often Dispel myths surrounding the process of childbirth Educate women about the types, availability, and effectiveness of nonpharmacological coping techniques 26

27. References The BabyCenter® 2010 Mom Social Influencer Report reveals five unique segments of social moms [News Release]. http://www.babycenter.com/100_-the-babycenter-174-2010-mom-social-influencer-report-reveal_10332899.bc Accessed October 25, 2010. http://www.babycenter.com/100_-the-babycenter-174-2010-mom-social-influencer-report-reveal_10332899.bc Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Marketing and Communication Strategy Branch. Audience Insights: Communicating to moms (with kids at home). http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/pdf/AudienceInsight_moms.pdf Accessed October 25, 2010.http://www.cdc.gov/healthmarketing/pdf/AudienceInsight_moms.pdf Glynn, A. The TMI of childbirth: From Tweeting intimate details of labor to posting full-frontal footage of baby’s birth—is nothing too sacred for social networking? http://www.pregnancy360.com/the-big-day/tmi-childbirth Accessed October 25, 2010.http://www.pregnancy360.com/the-big-day/tmi-childbirth The Nielsen Company. Nielson Online. Where the moms are: shopping, blogging, networking and strategizing online. [2009 News Release]. http://enus.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsen/en_us/documents/pdf/Press%20Releases/2009/May/Where%20The%20Moms %20Are%20Shoppi g,%20Blogging,%20Networking%20And%20Strategizing%20Online.pdf Accessed October 25, 2010. http://enus.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsen/en_us/documents/pdf/Press%20Releases/2009/May/Where%20The%20Moms %20Are%20Shoppi g,%20Blogging,%20Networking%20And%20Strategizing%20Online.pdf Prue CE, Daniel KL. Social marketing: planning before conceiving preconception care. Matern Child Health J. 2006;10(Suppl 1):79–84. http://www.springerlink.com/content/a3j554763469n035/ Accessed October 25, 2010. http://www.springerlink.com/content/a3j554763469n035/ Radio and Television Business (RBR) Report. The social media habits of women 18–34 [News Release]. http://www.rbr.com/medianews/research/25649.html Accessed October 25, 2010BabyCenter.com. http://www.rbr.com/medianews/research/25649.html Uhrig J, Bann C, Williams P, Evans WD. Social networking websites as a platform for disseminating social marketing interventions: an exploratory pilot study. Soc Mar Q. 2010;16(1):2–20. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a919454461~frm=titlelink Accessed October 25, 2010. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a919454461~frm=titlelink 27

28. RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute www.rti.org For more information contact Julia Kish-Doto jkdoto@rti.org