SPECIAL REPORT: Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) in Crisis

For nearly 40 years, the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), overseen by the CDC, has been an invaluable national database providing researchers and clinicians with insight into helping improve the health of mothers and babies. In April 2025, the CDC team managing PRAMS was placed on administrative leave. This eliminated the technical assistance available to PRAMS sites and removed access to over decades of PRAMS data. In June 2026, a convening took place at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies that brought together former CDC PRAMS staff, current and former site PRAMS staff, academic researchers, nonprofit and advocacy organizations, and private foundations. Their collaboration, co-lead by Harvard Pop Center Director Rita Hamad, resulted in a report that identifies the most urgent threats to PRAMS; develops actionable short- and medium-term recommendations to ensure PRAMS continuity; and assesses the infrastructure, staffing, and funding needed to preserve the system.