Significant staffing reductions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the second Trump administration have halted data collection for the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), a partnership between state health agencies and the federal government that tracks maternal and infant health. The CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, which oversees the PRAMS database, has lost most of its staff since President Trump took office.
In August, Mississippi declared a public health emergency due to a rising infant mortality rate, which has reached its highest level in over a decade, with 9.7 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024. The state has suspended PRAMS data collection, significantly impairing Mississippi's ability to gather essential data and evaluate maternal and child health programs. While the CDC stated that funding for 2025 data collection was allocated in May, it remains unclear why Mississippi's data collection has ceased.