Hear Her

cdc.gov

CDC national campaign launched August 2020 to raise awareness of urgent maternal warning signs during and in the year after pregnancy, and to get pregnant and postpartum women to speak up and the people around them, including clinicians, to listen and act. Built on video stories from women who had pregnancy-related complications.

Years: 2020–now
Reach: 180M impressions as reported
“Year 1: >390,000 unique site visitors, 180 million digital/social impressions.”
Country: United States
Topic: Maternal health
Asks people to: Recognize Seek help Talk to someone
Strategy: Simple instruction Testimonial
Channel: Clinical setting Print Social (organic)Social (paid)
Audience: Adults Clinicians
Pregnant and postpartum women, their partners, family and friends, and health care professionals; extra outreach to Black and American Indian/Alaska Native communities. Priority media markets included Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, New York and St. Louis.

Evidence

ProcessUnknown

Internet panel one month after launch and 7 months later: aided awareness rose 14.2 percentage points among pregnant/postpartum respondents (19.8 points among non-Hispanic Black respondents). At wave 2, aware respondents were somewhat more likely to search for information when something did not feel right (aPR 1.05), discuss concerns with someone close (aPR 1.14) and want more information from their provider (aPR 1.62). Cross-sectional association, no behavioral or clinical outcomes. Year 1: >390,000 unique site visitors, 180 million digital/social impressions.

Sponsor (who paid)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health Federal government, funder and creator
CDC Foundation (with funding from Merck for Mothers) Foundation, partner and funder

Credits (who made it)

EthniFacts LLC Research evaluation, 2020-2021 source
Hager Sharp Creative, 2021-2025 source

Executions (individual ads)

Personal story videos video
Campaign resources (posters, graphics, conversation guides) web
Posters and handouts for health care professionals clinical-setting
Maryland Department of Health ad using Hear Her messaging: listening and acting quickly could help save their life 2024 · social-paid · meta-ad-library
Maryland Department of Health ad using Hear Her messaging: you know your body best 2024 · social-paid · meta-ad-library

Sources

Spencer P et al. Assessing Early Impact of the Hear Her Communication Campaign. Health Promot Pract 27(4):724-737 evaluation · 2025 · DOI 10.1177/15248399251354966 · PMID 40731138
Behm B et al. A National Communication Effort Addressing Maternal Mortality in the United States: Implementation of the Hear Her Campaign. J Womens Health 2022;31(12):1677-1685 evaluation · 2022 · DOI 10.1089/jwh.2022.0428 · PMID 36525044
Hear Her: CDC Campaign Highlights Warning Signs of Pregnancy-Related Deaths (press release, 10 Aug 2020) sponsor · 2020
Hear Her Campaign: An Overview sponsor

Research notes

Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: EthniFacts LLC (PubMed record of 'Assessing Early Impact of the Hear Her Communication Campaign', author affiliation EthniFacts LLC, Irving, TX). Corrected 2026-10-22: source moved from the DOI link (publisher blocks fetching) to PubMed. Sponsor page lists the CDC Foundation and Merck for Mothers as supporters. Meta Ad Library / Google Ads Transparency Center: search advertiser 'Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)' (Meta page 'CDC'). Hear Her also has an AI/AN-specific track (cdc.gov/hearher/aian). Further credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages: Hager Sharp (USAspending CDC order 75D30121F12795 'Hear Her campaign', Sept 2021-Apr 2025; creative role inferred from the contract scope, no agency case page found). Reuse terms checked 2026-10-23 by an AI research pass for #47; not yet reviewed by a person.

Record cases/cdc-hear-her.json, updated 2026-10-23· Link to this campaign