TheGeorgiaPregnancyRiskAssessmentMonitoringSystem(PRAMS)isastatewide,ongoing, population?basedsurveythatcollectsinformationonwomenwhohaverecentlyhadalivebirthin Georgia.GeorgiaPRAMSinitiatedsamplingwithJanuary1993births.PRAMSsurveydatacomplements VitalStatisticsbyaskingmothersabouttheirattitudes,behaviors,andexperiencesbefore,during,and shortlyafterpregnancy.Surveytopicsincludepreconceptionhealth,pregnancyintention,prenatalcare, healthinsurance,substanceuse,breastfeeding,safesleepbehaviorsandenvironment,intimatepartner violence,maternalstressors,contraceptionuseandmethods,etc.Eachmontharandomsampleof approximately200womenisdrawnfromthebirthfileandstratifiedbymaternalresidentcounty.The sixoversampledcountiesareBibb,Chatham,Fulton,Lowndes,Muscogee,andRichmond.Womenare surveyedtwotosixmonthspost?deliveryfirstbymailandthenbyphoneiftheyhavenotcompletedthe survey.Eachmother'ssurveyislinkedtoherbaby'sbirthcertificate.ThegoalofGeorgiaPRAMSis improvethehealthofmothersandbabiesinGeorgiabyreducingtheriskofadversebirthoutcomesuch aslowbirthweight,pretermbirth,andinfantormaternalmorbidityandmortality.GeorgiaPRAMS providesessentialdataallowingfortheidentificationofhighriskgroups,selectionofmaternalandchild healthpriorities,establishmentofpreventionprograms,andpolicychangesthatcanimprovethehealth ofmothersandbabiesinGeorgia.
TheGeorgiaPregnancyRiskAssessmentMonitoringSystem(PRAMS)willcontinuetocollectdataon women'sattitudes,experiences,andbehaviorsbefore,during,andshortlyafterdeliveringalivebirth. Motherswillbecontactedbymailandphoneandwebwhenitbecomesavailable.Theinformation gainedfromthissurveillancesystemwillbeusedtoidentifymaternalandchildhealthriskfactorsof adversebirthoutcomes,targetpopulationatgreatestrisk,developinterventions,andinformpolicythat willimprovethehealthofmothersandbabiesinGeorgia.
