Between October 18–21, this website will move to a new web address (from health.gov to odphp.health.gov). During that time, some functions might not work as expected. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we’re working to make this transition as smooth as possible.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

California's Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA)

Supplier
CDPH
Years Available
1999 to present
Periodicity
Annual
Mode of Collection
Sample survey: mailed questionnaire with telephone follow-up for non-respondents; a web option was added in 2017.
Description
California's Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA) is a statewide representative annual survey of California women who recently gave birth to a live infant, sampled from birth certificates. It collects population-based data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. The survey is analogous to the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The goal of MIHA is to improve the health of mothers and infants by providing data to inform programs and policies aimed at reducing adverse outcomes such as low birth weight, infant mortality and morbidity, and maternal morbidity. MIHA survey responses are linked to birth certificate data and weighted to represent all women in California with a live birth each survey year.
Selected Content
MIHA data include basic demographic information, barriers to and content of prenatal care, maternal use of alcohol and cigarettes, maternal mental health, birth outcomes, and social determinants of health, including racism.
Population Covered
California mothers and infants.
Methodology
A stratified random sample of California women aged 15 years and older with a recent live singleton, twin or triplet birth is drawn from the state’s birth certificate file. African American women and women with preterm births are oversampled. The annual sample size (approximately 6,100 currently) is sufficient to provide data for the 35 California counties with the largest numbers of births when 2-3 years of data are combined. Data are collected in English and Spanish by mail and web with telephone follow up to non-respondents. The questionnaire covers a wide range of maternal and infant experiences, and maternal attitudes and behaviors before, during and shortly after pregnancy. The MIHA questionnaire and methods are similar to those used by the CDC in conducting the multi-state PRAMS survey.
Response Rates and Sample Size
In 2019 , 6,077 women participated in the survey. Annual response rates from the past few years are approximately 61%.
Interpretation Issues
Although MIHA data are weighted to the population of women with a recent live birth, the survey is only administered in English and Spanish and results may not be generalizable to women who speak other languages.
References
Maternal and Infant Health Assessment Survey Technical Notes.
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CFH/DMCAH/MIHA/CDPH%20Document%20Library/MIHA-TechnicalDocument.pdf