Mississippi Infant Deaths Surge After Funding Cuts, CDC Program Halted
The Trump administration’s restructuring of the CDC has forced Mississippi to halt data collection for the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), a crucial national database used for maternal and infant health policy. This interruption stems from the dismantling of the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, which oversaw PRAMS and lost much of its staff due to federal worker purges. The lack of comprehensive data from PRAMS will likely hinder efforts to improve maternal and infant health, particularly as Mississippi grapples with a surging infant mortality rate and seeks to address racial disparities in outcomes. Experts worry that this halt in data collection will lead to increased maternal and infant mortality rates.
John Q. Hosedrinker