Frequently Asked Questions about PRAMS
What is PRAMS?
PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System) is a joint research project between your state’s Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Our purpose is to find out why some babies are born healthy and others are not. Additionally, information from PRAMS will help us learn more about ways to improve health care for future mothers and babies in your state. To do this, our questionnaire asks new mothers questions about their behaviors and experiences around the time of their pregnancy.
Will my answers be kept private?
Yes—all answers are kept completely private and will only be used to answer questions related to the purpose of this study. All answers given on the questionnaires will be grouped together to give us information on mothers of new babies in your state. In reports from this survey, no woman will be identified by name.
Is it really important that I answer these questions?
Yes! Because of the small number of mothers picked, it is important to have everyone’s answers. Every pregnancy is different. To get a better overall picture of the health of mothers and babies in your state, we need each mother selected to answer the questions. We need to know what went right as well as what went wrong during your pregnancy. Your help is really important to the success of our program.
Some of the questions do not seem related to health care—why are they asked?
Many things in a mother’s life may affect her pregnancy. These questions try to get the best picture of the new mother’s health care and things that happened to her during pregnancy.
How was I chosen to participate in PRAMS?
Your name was picked by chance, like in a lottery, from the state or jurisdiction birth certificate registry. You are one of a small number of women who were chosen to help us in this study.
What if I want to ask more questions about PRAMS?
Please call us at our toll-free number 1-888-816-7929 or email us at prams@ejb.rutgers.edu, and we will be happy to answer any other questions that you may have about PRAMS. If you prefer to complete the questionnaire over the telephone, please call us on the same number.