M
U
Listening to Mothers
The landmark national Listening to Mothers surveys capture the views of those who care most about maternity issues: mothers themselves.

Since 2002, Listening to Mothers (LTM) has provided concrete, quantifiable information about pregnancy, childbirth, the postpartum period, and infancy. Fielded three times nationally and once in California, this widely cited and influential survey captures otherwise unavailable information. Each survey has broken new ground in understanding childbearing people’s views and experiences.

Thanks to the support of a group of national funders, Listening to Mothers IV is underway! The survey is currently in the field and results are expected by early 2025. Sign up for updates.

Datasets from these surveys are freely available to interested researchers via the Odum Institute’s Dataverse at the University of North Carolina (search for Listening to Mothers). We encourage researchers to use and adapt items in our questionnaires. However, researchers who are not collaborating with our investigator team may not use our trademark, Listening to Mothers.

Group of people activists protesting on streets, women march and demonstration concept.
COMING SOON: Listening to Mothers IV (2025)
LTM IV is a nationwide survey of 3,500 individuals across the nation with 2023 births. The survey went into the field Spring 2024. Several months later, a follow-up questionnaire directed to initial participants will capture longitudinal information. For the first time, LTM IV is oversampling Indigenous and Asian birthing people to ensure meaningful information about these communities. Tailored community outreach, engagement, and dissemination will center the realities of the communities most affected by maternal health inequities to support more effective solutions. Learn more.
Listening to Mothers in California Survey (2018)
The Listening to Mothers in California survey is a statewide population-based survey of women who gave birth in California hospitals in 2016. The survey provides extensive, timely, previously unavailable data about women’s maternity care experiences and views of their care. Learn more and access a digital report, full survey report, issue briefs, fact sheets, the survey questionnaire and other materials here.
Listening to Mothers III: Pregnancy and Birth (2013)
2,400 women across the country responded to the Pregnancy and Birth questionnaire, and Listening to Mothers III: Pregnancy and Birth reports their views and experiences. Several months later, those participants were invited to complete a follow-up questionnaire, and Listening to Mothers III: New Mothers Speak Out reports their responses.

Pregnancy and Birth

New Mothers Speak Out

Additional Resources

Listening to Mothers II: New Mothers Speak Out (2008)
This report combines results from the Listening to Mothers II survey (see below) and Listening to Mothers II Postpartum follow-up survey, which reached most Listening to Mothers II participants six months later. It provides an eye-opening look at experiences of the lives of mothers with young children in the United States.

Listening to Mothers II (2006)
This survey was carried out in January and February 2006 in partnership with Lamaze International. It surveyed women who gave birth in U.S. hospitals in 2005. The report provides an unparalleled understanding of the experience of childbearing in the United States at this time.

Listening to Mothers I (2002)

Listening to Mothers I was the first opportunity for women in the U.S. to describe at the national level their maternity experiences and assessment of those experiences. The results have given health professionals, policymakers and mothers a new level of understanding about many important matters and have been widely used to improve policy, practice, education and research.

Publications Using Listening to Mothers Survey Data

Data from Listening to Mothers surveys has been further analyzed by experts and academics over the years to identify evidence-practice gaps and make international comparisons. Click here for a full list of publications.

Back to Maternal Health