Maternal Health and American Cultural Values, 1st ed. 2023 Beyond the Social Determinants Global Maternal and Child Health Series

This book uniquely explores American cultural values as a factor in maternal health. It looks beyond the social determinants of health as primarily contributing to the escalating maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States.   

The United States is an outlier with poor maternal health outcomes and high morbidity/mortality in comparison to other high-resource and many mid-level resource nations. While the social determinants of health identify social and environmental conditions affecting maternal health, they do not answer the broader underlying question of why many American women, in a high-resource environment, experience poor maternal health outcomes. Frequent near-misses, high levels of severe childbearing-related morbidity, and high maternal mortality are comparable to those of lower-resource nations. 

This book includes contributions from recognized medical and cultural anthropologists, and diverse clinical and public health professionals. The authors examine American patterns of decision-making from the perspectives of intersecting social, cultural, and medical values influencing maternal health outcomes. Using an interdisciplinary critical analysis approach, the work draws upon decision-making theory and life course theory. Topics explored include:

• Cultural values as a basis for decision-making
• Social regard for motherhood
• Immigrants, refugees and undocumented mothers
• Cultural conflicts and maternal autonomy
• Health outcomes among justice-involved mothers

PART I           Maternal Health, American Cultural Values, and the Social Determinants of Health

Chapter 1        The health of American mothers in the context of cultural values

                        Barbara A. Anderson & Lisa R. Roberts

Chapter 2        Cultural values as a basis for decision-making

                        Eugene N. Anderson & Barbara A. Anderson

PART II         The Lived Experience of American Mothers

Chapter 3        Social regard for motherhood

                        Lisa R. Roberts

Chapter 4        Fertility and reproductive health

                        Lisa R. Roberts

Chapter 5        Maternal mental health and illness

                        Cheryl Tatano Beck

                        Lana J. Bernat

PART III        Mothers in a Divided Nation

Chapter 7        Immigrants, refugees and undocumented mothers

Chapter 8        Maternal health outcomes and othering: Ethnicity and race

                        Rachel S. Simmons

Chapter 9        Cultural conflicts and maternal autonomy

                        Joan MacEachen

                        Barbara A. Anderson

PART IV        Community Forces Influencing Maternal Health

Chapter 11      Healthcare providers: Leadership for optimal maternal health

Chapter 12      Survival services for American mothers

Chapter 13      Community influences on maternal safety

                        Mary de Chesnay

Chapter 14      Substance abuse and maternal health

                        Linda R. McDaniel

Chapter 15      Health outcomes among justice-involved mothers

Denae L Bradley

PART V         Reflections in the Cultural Mirror

                        Lisa R. Roberts & Barbara A. Anderson

Index

Barbara A. Anderson, DrPH, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, is professor emerita and a founding director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice at Frontier Nursing University, Lexington, Kentucky. She formerly served as administrative dean at Seattle University College of Nursing, Seattle, Washington, and faculty at Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Loma Linda, California. Promoting and enabling the health of mothers is her lifelong passion and she has deep experience in the USA and globally in public health, nurse-midwifery, and university administration and education. She was lead editor of The maternal health crisis in America: Nursing implications for advocacy and practice (2019)—an American Journal of Nursing (AJN) first-place award winner and lead editor of Best practices in midwifery: Using the evidence to implement change (2013, 2017), also first-place AJN award winner. She co-edited four editions of Caring for the vulnerable: Perspectives in nursing theory, research, and practice (2008, 2012, 2016, 2019) and co-authored a four-volume series on genocide, Warning signs of genocide (2013-2023), based upon genocidal experiences with refugees. She currently serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Childbirth; the community advisory board of an NIH-funded childhood obesity study among low-income Hispanic mothers, University of California at Riverside, School of Medicine; and on the national team for the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education. She received the National League of Nursing Mary Adelaide Nutting Award for Outstanding Teaching (2019) and the American Association of Birth Centers Media Award (2018). She has been on teams at Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health examining refugee health and cultural competency in maternal health care. 

Lisa R. Roberts, Dr.PH, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, is professor and research director, School of Nursing, with secondary appoi

Offers critical interdisciplinary analysis of American culture values in decision-making on maternal healthcare policy

Discusses cultural values driving systemic conditions and social determinants of health impacting maternal outcomes

Assesses cultural and historical messages that permeate decision-making about maternal health across multiple sectors