AllPRAMS.org

All PRAMS - A Collaborative

Rescuing our best source of scientific knowledge on US mothers and infants.

History / Mission

The Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring System (PRAMS) is a state population-based survey that studies the experiences of mothers before, during and after delivery. The survey covers 83% of all live births in the US. For nearly 40 years the CDC sponsored PRAMS, which became the premier source of data on mothers and their babies. PRAMS is vital in supporting maternal health research and initiatives.

Some examples of PRAMS data-to-action success stories include, but are not limited to:

Utah’s use of postpartum depression data to secure state funding for a dedicated maternal mental health specialist and improve statewide screening rates.
The Kansas Maternal Health Innovation Program (KMHIP) leveraging PRAMS data to construct targeted interventions for the state's most vulnerable women.
Maine’s multi-tiered Safe Sleep Campaign, driven by PRAMS infant sleep data, which resulted in all of the state's birthing hospitals becoming Safe-Sleep Certified.
Colorado’s use of PRAMS data to help implement tobacco cessation programs, such as the "Baby & Me Tobacco Free" program, and to evaluate hospital-based breastfeeding practices, contributing to a statewide increase in Baby-Friendly Hospitals.

Federal oversight of PRAMS effectively ended in early March 2025 when all CDC scientists who operated the program were subject to reductions in force. In the wake of this, the AllPRAMS collaboration was formed in April 2025.

The purpose of the AllPRAMS initiative is to support PRAMS sites through peer learning and collaboration, with the overall aim of encouraging states to continue this vital surveillance effort in the absence of CDC support. Specific goals are summarized below.

Phase 1: "All Hands on Deck"
Months 1 - 6

Goal 1: Restore Survey Operations

Situation: The CDC's system for survey collection was shut down without warning in March 2025. Sites needed help ASAP to implement data collection for 2025. Although the data collection system eventually came back online in the latter half of 2025, many sites were far behind in collecting their data.

Solution: We identified 'triage' partners who could rapidly setup survey collection and assisted sites with protocol; then helped plan for future collection.

Support Delivered:

Experienced survey protocol advisors,
Technical alternatives for data collection, and
Training and guidance for site staff.

Status: Completed.

Goal 2: Plan for 2024 Analytic Data

Situation: 2024 survey data was held by CDC; all expert staff to process data for research and policy decisions are gone. Most sites do not have expertise to clean and weight the raw data.

Solution: Developed support plan and budget for cleaning, weighting, packaging and publishing analytic data files for research and policy. Provided these plans to all sites requesting help, and share these plans with potential sponsors.

Support Delivered:

Statistical and survey methods expertise,
Cost estimation, and
Building ready teams for data processing.

Status: Completed.

Phase 2: "Navigate / Raise the Sails"
6 - 18 Months

Goal 3: Process and Publish 2024 Data

Situation: New technical and expert support requires funding. CDC support was already tight, but is now completely unreliable.

Solution: Identify MCH sponsors to fund immediate resource gaps in survey operations and data processing (next 6-12 months).

Needs:

Continue 2025 survey data collection by phone, web & mail.
Clean, weight, QA and package (up to) 50 research datasets from raw 2024 data.

Status: Early stages of negotiation with potential sponsors.

Goal 4: Scale for the Future

Situation: The loss of CDC technical staff have severely challenged states who need guidance, a way to maintain standards, and inputs about survey protocol.

Solutions: Launched a Collaboration Portal with technical library, model protocol, and sampling support. Build an online data query system for downloading deidentified multiyear, multisite research datasets.

Support Delivered:

Build up state-level capacity for analysis and data processing.
Brainstorm/implement simple structure for decision-making and leadership.
Hold monthly meetings with all sites to share ideas and progress.

Status: Portal launched to all sites; support ongoing.

Phase 3: "New Horizons"
18 - 36 Months

Goal 5: Strengthen Partnerships and Dissemination; Showcase Evidence-Based Policies and Programs

Organize a group of PRAMS advocates and experts to brainstorm ways to build sustainable support for sites.
Identify 'bridge' partners to help develop and implement an improved platform for ongoing public health MCH surveillance.
Establish steering committee and scientific advisory board to ensure quality, reliability, and historical integrity of data.
Build an online data query system for downloading de-identified, multi-year, multi-site research datasets.
Re-engage with federal, state and philanthropic partners as appropriate to facilitate long term sustainability for PRAMS.

Status: Early stages.

Questions?

Contact info -@- allprams -dot- org to learn more and join our collaborative.

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