State and Local Success Stories for a Surveillance System on the Impact of Emerging Threats during Pregnancy

Full Description:

Background: CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities launched the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET) to understand the effects of health threats on pregnant people and their infants. A key part of this surveillance is the ability to find exposures during pregnancy and link them with health outcomes of pregnant people and infants. CDC scientists use these data to monitor and improve the health of pregnant people and infants; link families to medical and social services to get recommended care; strengthen laboratory and clinical testing to find emerging health threats quickly; and ensure an equipped and prepared public health infrastructure to meet the needs of pregnant people and infants during emergencies.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, state, territorial, and local health departments worked with CDC to adapt SET-NET to collect information about the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant people and their infants. To showcase SET-NET’s impact at the state and local level, CDC collected success stories.

Methods: Jurisdictions funded for SET-NET indicated on a survey whether they would be amenable to discuss local successes with CDC staff. Among eight jurisdictions willing to participate, 30-minute phone interviews with six jurisdictions were scheduled. Interviews were recorded, with permission, and CDC staff used these recordings, along with notes taken during the interviews, to draft short stories. These stories were cleared by CDC as well as jurisdictional health departments, and signed waivers were obtained for use of quotes. All six completed success stories will be shared, organized by theme.
Findings: These success stories demonstrated themes such as the need to bridge silos, develop creative solutions for accessing data, and share information with relevant populations, including pregnant people and their providers, to ensure they had the latest guidance. Below is one example of a success story from Washington state that will be highlighted:
When the COVID-19 pandemic began, SET-NET helped health officials in Washington quickly initiate data collection on the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant people and their infants. They made important connections within the health department, including the maternal mortality team. They also trained medical record reviewers. Health department staff said that SET-NET is a “sustainable approach; we can fold in other conditions as we go along.” The state project coordinator for SET-NET said SET-NET’s existing processes and systems will help the state move forward. “[We are] confident that (the infrastructure built because of SET-NET) is something that we can quickly deploy to address any rising threat to mothers and babies.”
Implications: Showcasing success stories demonstrate SET-NET’s benefit to state and local health departments as well as the importance of monitoring the health of pregnant people and their infants during emergencies.

Abbreviated Description: CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities launched the Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET) to understand the effects of emerging and reemerging threats on pregnant people and their infants. This system built upon the U.S. Zika Pregnancy and Infant Registry. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, state and local health departments worked with CDC to adapt SET-NET processes to understand COVID-19’s impact on pregnant people and their infants. We will showcase success stories on SET-NET’s impact at the state and local level. The goal for collecting the stories was to communicate to policymakers and the public the value of SET-NET at the local level.