Research

I use qualitative methods to investigate the intersections of reproduction, health and medicine, fertility, family, and gender. The cornerstone of my research agenda is the idea that reproduction is a social, cultural, and political process, not just a biological one. Transitions in the reproductive life course represent key transitions in status and identity. See more about my dissertation research and other projects below.

A Qualitative Model of (In)Fertility

In my dissertation, I investigate how adults transform fertility desires into intentions, behaviors, and outcomes. Broadly, I consider the multidimensional work aspiring parents complete to actualize their fertility ideals. I address my research questions using semi-structured, in-depth interviews supplemented by short surveys, and participant observations at community events for expectant parents. My sample includes adults who are transitioning to parenthood and fertility care providers. See more about my dissertation here.

Postpartum Depression, Medicalization, and Ideal Motherhood

I use posts and comments scraped from parenting, pregnancy, and childbirth-focused communities on social networking website Reddit to qualitatively analyze the intersection of motherhood, mental health, and medicalization. I argue that medicalization is a key mechanism through which idealized motherhood practices are imbedded in women’s reproductive lives. This paper was published in Social Science & Medicine in March 2026. I presented earlier versions of this project at the Annual Meetings of the American Sociological Association (August 2024) and the Population Association of America (April 2025).

Social Networks and Constructions of Family

Since 2023, I have been a member of the Family Matters Research Study (FMS) team led by Dr. Lisa Pearce and based at the Carolina Population Center. FMS data includes network surveys with more than 400 pregnant women in North Carolina and open-ended interviews with a subset of participants. My first-author paper from the FMS study examines how people self-define their family networks without the constraints of biological or household family definitions. I presented an early version of this paper at the International Network for Social Network Analysis (INSNA)’s Sunbelt Conference in Paris, France (June 2025).

Identifying Sources of Sexual and Reproductive Health Information

As part of a research team, I explored adolescents’ experiences with identifying sources of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information based on 23 in-depth interviews with Black adolescent girls living in North Carolina. This project has generated publications in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology and the Journal of Adolescent Health. I presented early findings from this project at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (August 2023).