LYNN – A new text messaging program is being offered to encourage expecting mothers in Lynn to get the proper amount of prenatal care and tips to stay on the right track for a healthy pregnancy.Funded by Partners HealthCare, the pilot program, which is being offered through Lynn Community Health Center (LCHC) and Partners HealthCare’s Center for Connected Health, has enrolled 25 pregnant women. Participants receive informational and supportive text messages throughout their pregnancies and two months postpartum.The women, who were said to have had limited support systems in place, are age 22 on average and receive one and four text messages per week, reminding them to schedule appointments and encouraging them with positive messages.One of the women in the group, Jamie Briones, a 22-year-old Lynn mother of three, said the texts made her feel supportive and comforted.”I wish I had this for my first child because I didn’t know what to expect at the time, but I would recommend this to anybody because it’s really helpful,” she said.Briones said she heard about the program through other pregnant women at the health center and decided to test it out during her third pregnancy.”I know a first-time mom who got the texts and it was really helpful to her and it was a great reminder for me,” she said.Some of the messages that Briones and the other women received in English or Spanish were: “Hi, it’s your OB team reminding you to count your baby’s kicks. Call us @ 781-581-3900 if there is a change in frequency” and “Your OB team is checking in. Have you scheduled your ultrasound?”Results of patient surveys and review of the data have shown that women who got text messages from their clinical team received the recommended level of prenatal care 9 percent more than other pregnant women who did not get the messages.”There are some women who go through their entire pregnancy with minimal support other than that of their OB/GYN office,” said Leanna McDermott, a nurse at LCHC. “The text messaging program provides another opportunity for health-care providers to reach out, providing additional support and education that will help to ensure that they and their babies will get the right amount of prenatal care.”Through the text messaging program, McDermott said the health center saw an improvement in the level of appointments the women had and gave patients a constant reminder that help was only a phone call away.Dr. Gary Gottlieb, president and CEO of Partners HealthCare, said the text messaging program is the latest in a series of clinical collaborations among the health center, North Shore Medical Center and Partners HealthCare.