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Week One: Biological and Medical Impacts of Pregnancy
Primary Sources:
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). "Preterm Birth Risk and Vitamin D Levels." National Institutes of Health, 25 Mar. 2004, https://www.nichd.nih.gov/newsroom/news/030425-preterm-birth-vitamin-d.

"Maternal Resources, Pregnancy Concerns, and Biological Factors Associated to Birth Weight and Psychological Health." PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7916643/.

Secondary Sources:
"The Impact of Pregnancy on Breast Cancer Outcomes in Women ≤35 Years." American Cancer Society Journals, https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cncr.24165.

"Gestational Diabetes." Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gestational-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20355339.

"The Use and Impact of Monoclonal Antibody Biologics During Pregnancy." ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/docview/2555686617?accountid=14578&pq-origsite=summon&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals.

 

Week Two: Mental Health and Postpartum Care
Primary Sources:
Kozhimannil, K. B., et al. "Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Postpartum Depression Care Among Low-Income Women." PubMed Central, 2011, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3733216/.

"Mothers Under Pressure: Postpartum Mental Health in America." National Public Radio (NPR), 19 Jan. 2019, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/01/19/681603052/she-wanted-to-be-the-perfect-mom-then-landed-in-a-psychiatric-unit.

Secondary Sources:
"Mental Health and Postpartum Care in California: Implications from California's Provisional Postpartum Care Extension." ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049386721001845.

"Delayed Care During Pregnancy and Postpartum Linked to Poor Maternal Mental Health: Evidence in the United States." Taylor & Francis Online, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02646838.2024.2353091.

"Primary Care Screening for and Treatment of Depression in Pregnant and Postpartum Women." JAMA Network, https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2484344.

 

Week Three: The Rise of Cesarean Sections (C-Sections) and Its Implications
Primary Sources:
World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Statement on Cesarean Section Rates. WHO, 2015, https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/161442/WHO_RHR_15.02_eng.pdf?sequence=1.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Trends in Cesarean Delivery Rates in the United States." National Center for Health Statistics, 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/cesarean_births/cesareans.htm.

Secondary Sources:
"Prevalence and Correlates of Postpartum PTSD Following Emergency Cesarean Sections: Implications for Perinatal Mental Health Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Gale Academic OneFile, https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=lom_umichdearb&id=GALE|A823025137&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon.

"To ‘C’ or Not to ‘C’? Caesarean Delivery upon Maternal Request: A Review of Facts, Figures, and Guidelines." De Gruyter, https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jpm-2012-0049/html.

"Dysbiosis in Children Born by Caesarean Section." Gale Health Reference Center Academic, https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=HRCA&u=lom_umichdearb&id=GALE|A601551626&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon.

"The Health Implications of Birth by Caesarean Section." Wiley Online Library, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-185X.2011.00195.x.

 

Week Four: Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Maternal Health

Primary Sources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality in the United States." CDC, 2021, www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality/2021/maternal-mortality-rates-2021.htm.

Davis, D. A. Reproductive Injustice: Racism, Pregnancy, and Premature Birth. 2019, [book link].

Secondary Sources:

"NPR & ProPublica. Lost Mothers: Maternal Mortality in the U.S." NPR, www.npr.org/series/543928389/lost-mothers.

"Listen to the Whispers Before They Become Screams: Addressing Black Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in the United States." PubMed Central, www.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9914526/.

"Measuring Socioeconomic Status/Position in Studies of Racial/Ethnic Disparities: Maternal and Infant Health." JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4598680?seq=1.

Week Five: Structural Violence and Medical Racism in Obstetric Care

Primary Source:

Sims, J. M. The Story of My Life: A Historical Text on Medical Experimentation on Enslaved Women. 1866, [book link].

Secondary Sources:

"Homelessness Is a Form of Structural Violence That Leads to Adverse Obstetrical Outcomes." ProQuest, www.proquest.com/docview/2886081095/fulltext/A3D38E19FC7F4A17PQ/1?accountid=14578&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals.

American Public Health Association (APHA). "The Impact of Medical Racism on Maternal Health." American Public Health Association, 2020, www.apha.org/topics-and-issues/maternal-and-child-health.

"Obstetric Iatrogenesis in the United States: The Spectrum of Unintentional Harm, Disrespect, Violence, and Abuse." Taylor & Francis Online, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13648470.2021.1938510?needAccess=true.

Week Six: Public Health and Policy Interventions

Primary Source:

Amnesty International. Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis in the USA. 2010, www.amnesty.org/en/documents/amr51/007/2010/en/.

Secondary Sources:

Center for Reproductive Rights. "Reproductive Justice and Maternal Health Policies." Center for Reproductive Rights, 2021, www.reproductiverights.org/our-issues/maternal-health/.

"Improving Maternal and Child Healthcare Programme Using Community-Participatory Interventions in Ebonyi State, Nigeria." Gale Academic OneFile, https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=CSIC&u=lom_umichdearb&id=GALE%7CA391853050&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon&aty=ip 

"Rural Maternal Health Interventions: A Scoping Review and Implications for Best Practices." Wiley Online Library,

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jrh.70007

Week seven: Maternal Health in the Criminal Justice System 

Primary Sources:
Sufrin, Carolyn. Jailcare: Finding the Safety Net for Women Behind Bars. University of California Press, 2017. https://dokumen.pub/jailcare-finding-the-safety-net-for-women-behind-bars-9780520963559.html.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Know Your Rights - Reproductive Rights While Incarcerated. ACLU, https://www.aclu-il.org/en/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-reproductive-rights-while-incarcerated.

Secondary Sources:
Paltrow, Lynn M., and Jeanne Flavin. "Arrests of and Forced Interventions on Pregnant Women in the United States, 1973-2005: Implications for Women's Legal Status and Public Health." Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, vol. 38, no. 2, 2013, pp. 299–343, https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=36c2e9fc-990e-4287-8442-e73adfdb5442%40redis.

Wildeman, Christopher, et al. "Comparing the Effects of Maternal and Paternal Incarceration on Adult Daughters’ and Sons’ Criminal Justice System Involvement: A Gendered Pathways Analysis." Criminal Justice and Behavior, vol. 43, no. 1, 2016, pp. 27–42, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0093854816643122.

Spinelli, Margaret G. Infanticide and Filicide: Foundations in Maternal Mental Health Forensics. American Psychiatric Association, 2020, https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=478b1956-da83-4806-b6ab-a69c39fab20b%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=2703666&db=e000xna.

 

Week eight: Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Ethics 

Primary Sources:
Spar, Debora L. The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception. Harvard Business Review Press, 2006, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1523406/.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Assisted Reproductive Technology Success Rates. 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/art/success-rates/index.html.

Secondary Sources:
American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "Upper Age Limit for Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Ethics Opinion." Fertility and Sterility, vol. 110, no. 7, 2018, pp. 1234–1241, https://www.proquest.com/docview/2084846284.

American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "Maximum Number of Embryos to Be Transferred in Assisted Reproductive Technologies Cycle: Ethics Opinion." Fertility and Sterility, vol. 110, no. 4, 2018, pp. 902–907, https://www.proquest.com/docview/2084846691.

Seifer, David B., et al. "Diminished Ovarian Reserve in the United States Assisted Reproductive Technology Population: Diagnostic Trends Among 181,536 Cycles." Fertility and Sterility, vol. 105, no. 2, 2016, pp. 458–466, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028215003647.

 

Week nine: Climate Change and Maternal Health 

Primary Sources:
World Health Organization (WHO). Climate Change and Maternal Health Risks. 2019, https://www.who.int/news/item/21-11-2023-climate-change-is-an-urgent-threat-to-pregnant-women-and-children.

"Midwives’ Views About the Effects of Climate Change on Maternal and Child Health: A Qualitative Study." Midwifery, vol. 116, 2024, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871519224000349.

Secondary Sources:
"Climate Change and Maternal Health." Environmental Research, vol. 111, 2011, pp. 562–570, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1751721411001680.

"Invited Perspective: Climate Change and Maternal Mental Health—Looking Beyond High-Income Countries." Environmental Health Perspectives, 2024, https://www.proquest.com/docview/3171423030.

Women's Health. "How Intense Heat Waves Are Affecting The Next Generation Before They’re Even Born." Women's Health Magazine, 2024, https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a61983052/climate-change-heatwaves-preterm-birth-risks/.

American Progress. "Rising Extreme Heat Compounds the U.S. Maternal Health Crisis." Center for American Progress, 2024, https://www.americanprogress.org/article/rising-extreme-heat-compounds-the-u-s-maternal-health-crisis/.

 

Week ten: The Role of Midwifery and Alternative Birthing practices

Primary source: Davis- Floyd, R. (2003). Birth as an American Rite of Passage 

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Birth_as_an_American_Rite_of_Passage/IiRnEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

Secondary Sources: Midwives Caring for Black Mothers of Black Boys During Pregnancy and Childbirth https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10995-021-03224-1

Midwifery Education and Care https://www.who.int/teams/maternal-newborn-child-adolescent-health-and-ageing/maternal-health/midwifery/maternal-health-83-percent-midwifery-care

Rethinking the birthing body: Cartesian dualism and perinatal nursing

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2002.02111.x

Gaskin, I. M. (2011). Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta 

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Birth_Matters/vfm_rBuh63oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

ASSIGNMENTS

Week 1: Biological and Medical Impacts of Pregnancy

Assignment: Critical Review Paper

• Write a 3–4-page paper analyzing the medical impacts of pregnancy on women's health. Compare the two primary sources from this week and discuss how biological factors contribute to maternal health risks. Outside research can be included. 

Week 2: Mental Health and Postpartum Care

Assignment: Personal Reflection or Interview Report

• Conduct an interview with a mother about her postpartum experience (or reflect on personal experiences if applicable).
• Write a 2-page report connecting her story to this week's readings on postpartum care and mental health.

Week 3: The Rise of Cesarean Sections (C-Sections) and Its Implications

Assignment: Data Analysis Report

• Use CDC data to create a graph showing C-section trends over time- OR- interview a mother who has had a Cesarean Section (C- Section), conduct the interview with emphasis on her emotions about needing or opting in for a C- section, how the process went, and how the recovery went. 
• Write a 2-page report discussing the medical, ethical, and cultural implications of increased C-section rates, and or how a C- section can affect a woman physically, and mentally. 

Week 7: Maternal Health in the Criminal Justice System

Assignment: Policy Analysis Presentation

• Create a 5-slide presentation analyzing policies affecting incarcerated pregnant women.
• Compare the U.S. approach to at least one other country and propose reforms.

Week 10: The Role of Midwifery and Alternative Birthing Practices

Assignment: Comparative Analysis Essay

• Compare hospital births and midwifery-led home births in terms of safety, cost, and maternal outcomes.
• Use at least three sources and write a 3-page analysis.