Iowa Partners are at the Heart of National Expansion

Organizational Updates,  State Expansion

• Kimberly Isburg
• 02.24.23

Count the Kicks began as an idea that was sparked by five Iowa moms who wanted to prevent other families from experiencing the pain of losing a baby. With the help of their friends, family, and local communities, Count the Kicks has grown into a public health program that is now educating and empowering expectant parents in half the country.

We are proud to call Iowa home, and to have valued partners who believe in our mission. Many Iowa-based businesses and organizations have helped us introduce this life-saving program in 24 additional states. Their support and expertise is central to our work. 

Learn more about the Iowa partnerships at the heart of our mission to save babies.

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services

This department was one of the first groups we reached out to with the idea for Count the Kicks. IHHS provided us with the guidance we needed to get Count the Kicks off the ground. They believed in us and in the research and evidence behind maternal fetal movement monitoring.

Strategic America

West Des Moines based Strategic America first helped develop and design our printed educational materials in 2007-2008. They have continued to support our organization by providing in-kind design and marketing services. They also consistently support our media outreach efforts.

In 2022, the team at Strategic America helped us launch a new initiative: Every Kick Counts. This campaign provides a way for athletes to give back by raising awareness and funds to support our mission. Since Every Kick Counts launched on Super Bowl Sunday 2022, more than 100 athletes from 30 states signed up. Together they raised more than $75,000 to support our work.

Strategic Imaging

We have partnered with Waterloo-based Strategic Imaging to print and distribute our printed educational materials for the past 3 years. Strategic Imaging helps fulfill hundreds of orders each month. They also help us with sending mail campaigns to providers in expansion states. With their support, more than 2.5 million pieces of Count the Kicks educational materials have been distributed across the U.S.  

Happy Medium

Happy Medium is a full-service digital creative agency based in Des Moines, Iowa. They helped us design and launch a brand new, user-friendly Count the Kicks website in early 2021. This website is an important way for expectant parents, providers, donors and organizations around the country to learn about our free Count the Kicks app and our printed educational materials.

We also partnered with Happy Medium to launch a website for Healthy Birth Day, Inc. in early 2022. We are grateful to have a user-friendly platform that helps stillbirth prevention advocates and supporters get involved in our work. 

QCI

Tech consulting firm QCI helped us develop the FREE Count the Kicks app, which is the Hallmark tool of our program. With their help, our app has been downloaded more than 212,000 times in all 50 states and more than 140 countries. We are proud to have a 4.8 star rating in the iTunes app store and more than 4,400 reviews from app users.  QCI is based in West Des Moines, Iowa.

B2E Data

Our organization places a high value on using research and data to inform our work. B2E Data, a data analytics and marketing agency in Des Moines, provides in-kind data analytics to guide our team. We are grateful to owner Keith Snow, who has been a member of the Healthy Birth Day, Inc. Board of Directors since 2017.

Raygun

Raygun founder Mike Draper is a member of the Count the Kicks Influencer Advisory Board. He has played a pivotal role in our organization’s awareness and fundraising efforts over the past two years. Draper connected us with Iowa Hawkeyes Punter Tory Taylor, who decided to donate his NIL funds to our campaign in 2021. Taylor also became a part of the Every Kick Counts initiative in 2022. Sales of Tory Taylor’s shirts at Raygun and Taylor’s Every Kick Counts fundraiser have raised more than $50,000 to support our mission. Raygun also prints T-shirts for fundraising events like the Changemakers Luncheon.

Celebrate Progress

The five grieving moms who founded Healthy Birth Day, Inc., wanted to make this world a safer place to have a baby. With each new baby save story we receive, this vision is becoming a reality. To date, we have heard from more than 110 families in 33 states who reached out to share how Count the Kicks helped their baby arrive safely. Of these stories, 41 are Iowa babies.

As the country’s leading stillbirth prevention organization, we maintain a deep commitment to our Iowa roots and the partnerships that have helped us grow along the way. With their continued support, we know we can turn our vision to Save 7,500 babies into a reality.