About the Data
Overall estimates as well as estimates by maternal race/Hispanic ethnicity, age group, educational attainment, household poverty level, nativity, and marital status are available. The data were weighted using selected maternal demographics to account for non-response and adjusted for sampling probabilities and coverage to represent the Massachusetts birth population in a given year. Mothers were surveyed 2-6 months after giving birth on their maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy.
As you look at data on this webpage, you may see differences among population groups. The differences are especially noticeable between white people and people of color.
These differences exist because of structural racism. These differences are NOT because of an individual’s choices, behaviors, or identity.
Systems of oppression, such as racism, cause harm to everyone. They also influence the social determinants of health (SDoH), which impact health outcomes. See Figure 1.
It is important to keep these notes in mind when looking at the data and using it to inform public health efforts.
If you decide to share these data, remember to use racial equity context and framing. The DPH Racial Equity Data Road Map is one resource that can help.
About PRAMS Data
PRAMS data can be used to identify groups of women and infants at high risk for health problems, to monitor changes in health status, and to measure progress towards goals in improving the health of mothers and infants. PRAMS data are used to investigate emerging issues in the field of reproductive health and to plan and review programs and policies aimed at reducing health problems among mothers and infants.
Massachusetts PRAMS oversamples by race and Hispanic ethnicity to ensure adequate representation of racial and ethnic minority mothers. PRAMS data are linked to selected birth certificate demographic variables and provide state-level estimates of maternal and child health indicators.
Throughout the report, a sample size less than 5 is not shown due to privacy and appears as Insufficient Data to Report.
PRAMS data are generalizable only to pregnancies resulting in a live birth of singletons or multiples of fewer than four, to Massachusetts residents who gave birth in the state.
The PRAMS survey is currently only administered in English and Spanish. This might present a limitation in collecting data from mothers who speak neither survey language. Since PRAMS is based on self-reported information, there is the potential for misclassification error. Bias may occur if some groups of mothers recall experiences more or less accurately than others.