Two to three women die of pregnancy complications every day in the United States. Yet half these deaths could be prevented if women had better access to health care, received higher quality care and made changes in health and life-style habits.

Pre-delivery complications alone account for more than 2 million hospital days of care and more than $1 billion annually. These costs would be higher if complications during and after pregnancy were also counted.

To improve reproductive health, many states are promoting a safe motherhood agenda built around healthy lifestyle choices and are implementing the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS).  This system gathers much needed information about the behaviors and experiences of women before, during and after pregnancy.

A Healthy Start: Assessment System Helps Babies by Helping Mothers

How do you know how healthy the new mothers and infants in your state are? For many state legislators, the information is at their fingertips with an assessment called PRAMS - the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. PRAMS gives legislators crucial information they need to make sure their state's most vulnerable residents are thriving.

This report from the CDC provides recommendations that will improve both preconception health and preconception health care in the U.S.  Many reproductive health conditions, risks and environmental exposures can be prevented through reproductive health screening given as part of routine pregnancy care. 

Policymakers can implement these recommendations through state and local projects, educational materials and programs designed to improve preconception health.

Community Health Resources

Learn more about programs to reduce unintended pregnancy in CDC's Community Health Resources, including fact sheets, state and local program contacts, communication materials and state data.

Safe Motherhood: Promoting Health for Women Before, During and After Pregnancy 2006

This four-page CDC report provides a fact-filled overview of safe motherhood, including statistics on pregnancy-related deaths and complications, a list of effective prevention strategies, brief descriptions of research to improve maternal and child health, and suggestions about ways states can improve programs for women and infants.