Proposed federal budget cuts now threaten two of the nation’s most important maternal health programs: the CDC’s Safe Motherhood and Infant Health program and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAM). These programs collect essential data that shape maternal health standards and services across the United States. Without them, identifying risks and responding to crises would become more difficult, and recent progress on maternal mortality rates could slip backward.
Health Disparities in Maternal Health
CDC data show that maternal mortality declined overall from 2021 to 2023. But that trend did not hold for everyone. Black mothers still face mortality rates more than three times higher than white mothers. Even education and income offer little protection; a Black woman with a college degree is still more likely to die from childbirth complications than a white woman with only a high school education.
Rural women and Alaskan natives also face statistically significant challenges in accessing care. Understanding and addressing these inequities demands targeted solutions, not program cutbacks.
Funding Debate Still Unfolding
The President’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal suggests eliminating funding for the Safe Motherhood program. But Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged the importance of the program during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing, signaling a willingness to restore it, noting the disproportionate impact on Black communities.
“We need to protect our moms, we need to protect our kids, and we need to do a lot better,” Secretary Kennedy said, in response to Congressional leaders’ concern that the cut was a mistake.
Bipartisan efforts are underway to ensure the program’s funding continues.
Without Data, Progress Stalls
The value of the Safe Motherhood program and PRAMS goes far beyond simple data collection. Together they create an information infrastructure to help experts understand why women die from pregnancy-related causes and what can be done to prevent it.
By supporting smarter public health investments, including preventative services, the program has begun to reduce the number of maternal deaths, but experts say a large percentage of remaining deaths are also preventable. Without steady funding, fragile gains could be lost. As budgets and agencies shift, maternal health monitoring must remain a national priority.
