Most Americans know that it’s important for someone to take care of their health before getting pregnant and during pregnancy to increase their chance of having a healthy baby. Many people know, for instance, that smoking or drinking alcohol can have detrimental effects during pregnancy, increasing the likelihood that a baby is delivered early, is underweight, or has birth defects.
But many people are unsure of other consequential knowledge that affects having a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby, according to an Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) health survey. The maternal health survey, conducted with a sample of more than 1,600 U.S. empaneled adults from April 15-28, 2025, finds that most people are uncertain about which vaccinations are safe and recommended for pregnant people by medical professionals and what the appropriate pregnancy weight gain is for a healthy person.
The following findings for adults 18 and older also highlight responses from the subset of survey respondents who are women of childbearing age, 18-49 years old, when their responses differ significantly from the overall public. (See the topline .)
“Because those around us influence our health decisions, persons of childbearing age and their families and friends should know the risks of smoking and alcohol use before, during, and after pregnancy and which vaccines should and should not be taken during pregnancy,” said Patrick E. Jamieson , director of the policy center’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute.
The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s April 2025 health survey finds that:
The vast majority of survey respondents are knowledgeable about consequential behaviors and medical conditions before and during pregnancy, including doctors’ recommendations about taking medication and supplements.
What most people get right about pregnancy health:
When asked to consider which of several statements is more accurate:
What more people need to know:
In questions on the effects of smoking and drinking alcohol during pregnancy, the survey finds that most people understand the negative impacts and how they can be avoided.
Avoiding negative impacts:
Not drinking alcohol is another way to avoid negative impacts – but women of childbearing age are less likely than other people (men and older women) to know that they should abstain from alcohol if they are seeking to get pregnant:
Medical professionals recommend that most pregnant people take the following vaccines while they are pregnant if they have not yet taken these vaccines during their pregnancy: Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis), seasonal flu , and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). (See the CDC’s recommendations here .)
The survey finds a significant drop over the past year, since April 2024, in the numbers of people who know that medical professionals recommend these three vaccines for most pregnant people.
The measles vaccine ( MMR ) is not recommended but the survey finds that most people are unsure whether or not it is recommended.
This section presents results for the full adult sample and among women 18-49 years old. The women ages 18-49 are more knowledgeable that doctors recommend the Tdap vaccine (52%) than the rest of the population (31%). There are no statistically significant differences between this subgroup and the rest of the population in knowing that doctors recommend the other vaccines (flu and RSV) or knowing that doctors do not recommend the MMR vaccine, though women 18-49 are less uncertain about which vaccines are recommended than everyone else.
An APPC news release in May 2025 explored survey findings that the risks of measles during pregnancy are not widely understood.
The survey data come from the 24th wave of a nationally representative panel of 1,653 U.S. adults conducted for the Annenberg Public Policy Center by SSRS , an independent market research company. Most have been empaneled since April 2021. To account for attrition, replenishment samples have been added over time using a random probability sampling design. The most recent replenishment, in September 2024, added 360 respondents to the sample. This wave of the Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) survey was fielded April 15-28, 2025. The margin of sampling error (MOE) is ± 3.4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All figures are rounded to the nearest whole number and may not add to 100%. Combined subcategories may not add to totals in the topline and text due to rounding.
Download the topline and the methods report .
The policy center has been tracking the American public’s knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors regarding vaccination, Covid-19, flu, RSV, and other consequential health issues through this survey panel for four years. In addition to Jamieson, APPC’s ASAPH survey team includes research analysts Laura A. Gibson and Shawn Patterson Jr., and Ken Winneg, managing director of survey research.
See other recent Annenberg health survey news releases:
The Annenberg Public Policy Center was established in 1993 to educate the public and policy makers about communication’s role in advancing public understanding of political, science, and health issues at the local, state, and federal levels.
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