Maternal and Infant Health Assessment (MIHA)

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
About the MIHA Survey

What is MIHA?

Each year since 1999, the Maternal and Infant Health Assessment, or MIHA, survey has been sent to a small number of people across California who recently had a live birth. MIHA includes questions about experiences before, during and shortly after pregnancy, and questions about their new baby. Data from MIHA are used to monitor the health of California's birthing population, and to inform the development of health policies and programs for California families. MIHA is a collaborative effort of the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Divisionand the Center on Health Equity at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) .

Who is selected for the survey? Where did you get my name?

If you have recently given birth, your name may be picked by chance, like in a lottery, from the state birth certificate registry. If you are chosen, you will receive a MIHA survey by mail, and you may be contacted by an interviewer to do the survey over the phone or online. Because you are one of a small number of people who were randomly chosen to participate, your answers are very important, and no one can take your place.

Will my survey answers really make a difference?

Yes! Only a small number of people will receive the survey each year. Each pregnancy is different and there's a lot we don't know about what affects health during pregnancy. To get a better overall picture of the health of California families, we need every person who receives the survey to complete it. Your answers may help improve the health of families in California in the future.

What kind of information does MIHA collect? Some of the questions do not seem to be about health care - why are they asked?

The MIHA survey collects information from participants about their experiences and behaviors before, during, and after their pregnancies that might affect their health and the health of their babies. Many different things in a person's life may affect their and their baby's health — even some things that don't seem to be about pregnancy and birth outcomes. Even events that happened before pregnancy can sometimes affect a pregnancy and the baby's health. The MIHA questions are designed to gather information about the many aspects of a person's life that can affect their health and the health of their baby.

Will my answers be kept private?

Yes. Your name and contact information have been used by our research team only to contact you. We will not connect them to your survey answers. The answers given by all the participants who respond to the survey will be grouped together to give us information on California overall. Protecting your privacy is very important to us, and we are committed to making sure that your personal information is kept very secure.

How can I help?

If you were selected, please complete the survey and mail it back. You can also complete it online or on the phone. We offer a special gift to each participant who completes and returns their survey. Call Nina Lee at 1-855-367-6442 or email at ninalee@mihasurvey.org for more information.