A 20-Year Partnership: Proven and March of Dimes

Nina Talley
March 13, 2025

In 2002, when we learned about potentially working with the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, we didn’t realize how personal the work would become to our team. Two years into the engagement, one of our longest-serving members experienced the challenges of caring for her premature twins, spending long hours at the hospital neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, until they could thrive on their own. Suddenly, the mission of making maternal and infant health data accessible became a championed cause for our entire team.

13 million data points transformed into 60,000+ accessible and compelling visualizations

The March of Dimes faced a monumental task: how to make 13 million maternal and infant health data points accessible and meaningful to everyone — from medical researchers to journalists to high school students. Their original platform, March of Dimes PeriStats, struggled with user accessibility; reports were hard to find, the interface was confusing, and staff spent countless hours helping users locate basic information.

After a competitive bidding process, we began with a focused mission: make vital health data not just available, but useful. Beginning with a humble data presentation in 2002, we expanded services and solutions based on evolving user needs over the next two decades. We completed three major website redesigns, each incorporating new technologies, while maintaining long-term goals. In 2004, we added sophisticated graphics and visualization capabilities. In 2009, we launched the Big 5 Perinatal Quality Improvement Portal, serving the nation’s most populous states — New York, California, Illinois, Texas, and Florida. Our most recent redesign in 2021 set ambitious goals: increasing site visits by 20% and reaching new audiences, including younger users and parents.

“Proven has been an integral member of the PeriStats team since the website’s inception … Proven staff have been dedicated collaborators; they are committed to the website and March of Dimes in a way that is beyond expectations.”

Caroline Alter

Former Director
March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center

We developed a sophisticated three-tier architecture powered by Microsoft SQL server 2008 and .net Framework 3.5 with C#, running on four load-balanced web servers. But the real innovation came in how we made this technical sophistication invisible to users. By transforming complex data into intuitive charts and geographic visualizations, our custom indexing system makes millions of data points instantly accessible.

6 major national data sources integrated into one accessible platform

Today, PeriStats offers unprecedented access to maternal and infant health information through an integrated suite of tools. Dynamic visualizations automatically update based on user selections, while state-to-state comparisons enable meaningful regional analysis. Users can save up to 10 customized views through our cookie-enabled “Manage Your Slides” feature, and share their findings through multiple download formats including PowerPoint, PDF, and spreadsheet options. A mobile-optimized interface ensures this vital information is accessible from any device.

We’ve unified data from America’s most authoritative health sources, including:

  • CDC’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS)
  • National Center for Health Statistics Natality Data
  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
  • U.S. Census Bureau
  • CDC Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance
More than 20 searchable subtopics, including preterm birth, infant mortality, cesarean section rates, and health insurance coverage

Over the years we’ve worked with multiple March of Dimes departments, including collaborations with the policy, marketing, and PeriStats teams, and we’ve achieved remarkable milestones:

Two decades of partnership, one mission: making maternal and infant health data accessible to all

Our long history of collaboration thrives through a deep understanding of each team’s needs and capabilities, coupled with regular updates and proactive optimization. We continuously adapt to changing technologies, while maintaining our shared commitment to improving maternal and infant health. The success of our partnership is reflected in our ability to anticipate needs, solve challenges collaboratively, and consistently deliver solutions that make a difference.

This 20-year journey has transformed how America accesses maternal and infant health information. From those early days of basic data presentation to today’s sophisticated visualization platform, our partnership with March of Dimes continues to evolve, making vital health information accessible to all who need it.

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