California's Commitment to Healthy Babies . BabyCal is a statewide public awareness campaign to combat low birth weight and infant death. The campaign focuses on educating women about the importance of prenatal care. The program is administered by the state Department of Health Services and is funded in part by Proposition 99, the Tobacco Tax Initiative. The campaign demonstrated very high recall of all media including television ads, radio, outdoor boards, brochures and posters.
Results show significant influence on behaviors.
Over three quarters said the ads influenced their thoughts about drinking or smoking. The infant mortality rate for African Americans dropped from 16.7 in 1992 to 15.5 in 1993. The rate for whites and Hispanics continues a five-year declining trend at 6.2 and 6.4 respectively in 1993. All rights reserved.