Last Updated: July 2015
Author: Division of Maternal and Child Health, Vermont Department of Health
The state-level indicator is measured by the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) a project between the state departments of health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health.The purpose of PRAMS is to collect state-specific, population-based data on maternal attitudes and experience before, during and shortly after pregnancy.
Vermont PRAMS data identified two distinct profiles of women who used alcohol before and during pregnancy and showed that a healthcare provider's advice against drinking any alcohol during pregnancy was associated with lower prevalence rates of drinking.
The Vermont Department of Health:
Healthcare Providers
Maternal Child Health Coalitions
Community Health Teams
Strategy
Similar to statewide efforts, local partners are using data
to drive local strategy. For regional data on Maternal and Infant Health indicators, check out our Public Health Data Explorer.
Prenatal exposure to alcohol is one of the leading preventable causes of birth defects, intellectual disabilities and other developmental disorders in newborns.
This indicator is part of Healthy
Vermonters 2020 (the State Health Assessment) that documents the health status
of Vermonters at the start of the decade and the population health indicators
and goals that will guide the work of public health through 2020. Click here for more
information.
Data is updated as it becomes available and timing may vary by data source. For more information about this indicator, click here.
The PRAMS sample of women who have had a recent live birth is drawn from the state's birth certificate file. Each participating state samples between 1,300 and 3,400 women per year. Women from some groups are sampled at a higher rate to ensure adequate data are available in smaller but higher risk populations. Selected women are first contacted by mail. If there is no response to repeated mailings, women are contacted and interviewed by telephone. Data collection procedures and instruments are standardized to allow comparisons between states.