Maternal and Infant Health: An Overview

Key points

  • CDC's Division of Reproductive Health (DRH) provides scientific leadership to promote women's and infants' health before, during, and after pregnancy.
  • DRH works to reduce health problems and death among mothers and babies.
  • We provide special attention to reducing racial and ethnic differences in these health outcomes.

Overview

woman holding a baby, a pregnant woman and a health care provider, another woman holding an infant, and a premature infant
Promoting health before, during, and after pregnancy.

Learn more about the many areas of DRH's work to promote maternal and infant health.

Pregnancy Complications Reducing your risk, common problems.

Diabetes During Pregnancy Types of diabetes, how to manage.

Weight Gain During Pregnancy Recommendations, data highlights, steps to meet your goal.

Substance Use During Pregnancy Health effects of opioids, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol.

Depression Among Women Symptoms, seeking treatment, postpartum depression, resources.

Maternal Mortality ERASE MM, Maternal Mortality Review Committees, Surveillance, and Prevention.

Preterm Birth About the problem, risk factors, prevention.

SUID and SIDS Risk factors, prevention and grief resources, data highlights, and training resources.

Infant Mortality Causes, actions to reduce infant mortality.

Perinatal Quality Collaboratives About networks working to improve the quality of care for mothers and babies, CDC resources.

CDC Levels of Care Assessment Tool (CDC LOCATe) About CDC LOCATe and the process, how data are used, participating states.