Disability and Pregnancy: A Cross-Federal Agency Collaboration to Collect Population-Based Data About Experiences Around the Time of Pregnancy.

Many reproductive-aged women with a disability can achieve successful healthy pregnancies; however, they may face challenges accessing prenatal and postpartum care and finding providers who are knowledgeable about their specific condition. Depending on the nature of the disability, some women may also be at increased risk for adverse maternal and infant outcomes such as pre-eclampsia, infection, anemia, primary cesarean delivery, or preterm birth. Population-based data are needed to better understand the pregnancy and postpartum experiences of women living with disability. The National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) collaborated to address these data gaps by leveraging CDC's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) to gather information about disability among women who have had a recent live birth. Data collection began in 2019. Information gathered through PRAMS can be used to guide the development of clinical practices guidelines, intervention programs, and other initiatives of federal, state, and local agencies to improve services and the health of women of reproductive age living with disability.