College students today have a lot to contend with in their journey as young adults. The college years are often a transitional time for students, and as such there is a vulnerability to mental health declines. Financial, academic, and social strain are some of the factors that can contribute to...
This dissertation aims to provide a comprehensive portrayal of doula care in the lives of pregnant and parenting adolescent mothers. The purpose of this research was to examine the relationships between psychosocial stress, social support, institutionalized constraints, and their impacts on health and well-being among adolescent mothers in the Northwestern...
This creative writing project employs the use of ethnographic fiction to position the voices of newly mothering women within the literature surrounding gender inequality, access to social services, and pregnancy while being situated during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The voices of four women are brought to life within a broader...
In this thesis, I examine the experiences of breastfeeding mothers who chose to give birth with Certified Professional Midwives at a free-standing birth center, and the factors that influence their known high rates of breastfeeding initiation and duration. Using grounded theory and data collected from participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and...
The emergence of the 2019 coronavirus disease drove the rapid implementation of telehealth in maternal healthcare services in the United States (US) and globally. To protect providers and patients, states across the US incorporated telecommunications technology to substitute traditional in-person care for many aspects of perinatal care, for low- and...
Current estimates indicate that between one-third and one-half of women in the United States have at least one abortion in their lifetime, and that many women encounter socioeconomic, logistical, or social obstacles in the process of seeking care (Jones 2005, Guttmacher 2008). The purpose of this study is to critically...
In this ethnographic study, I examine how women living in downstate Illinois decide to give birth at home. I view decision-making as a process that unfolds throughout pregnancy and continues into the postpartum period, contextualizing "choice" in a region where homebirth is a politically and socially marginalized practice. The methodology...
Haiti's political and economy history has led to a maternity care system that lies out of reach, geographically and financially, of most Haitians, resulting in excessively high maternal and infant mortality. The most common birth practitioners are homebirth midwives (matwòns), who attend roughly three-fourths of all births in Haiti (UNICEF),...