Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System

The Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS) is a surveillance project conducted cooperatively by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state health departments, with the goal of reducing adverse birth outcomes and improving the health of mothers and infants. PRAMS collects data about pregnancy and the first few months after birth which supplement that available on birth certificates, including maternal experiences and attitudes during pregnancy, while giving birth, and shortly after giving birth. PRAMS was initiated in 1987, and the first participants were the District of Columbia, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. Twenty-nine states plus New York City participated in PRAMS in 2006, and six other states have participated at some point in the past.

Two factors led to the ...