Are falling U.S. birth rates a pause or a permanent shift? A new study finds both intentions to delay childbearing and intended childlessness rose between 2012 and 2018 — for men and women alike. Together, these trends suggest fertility may not fully rebound.🔗
New research finds that when birthing people report more person-centered care—being heard, informed, and treated with respect—they're also more likely to feel empowered to advocate for themselves during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.👉️
Research by Allison Daminger was featured in the ABC news article “The Four Stages of the Mental Load Explained.”
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11113-025-09989-5.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
www.abc.net.au
While research has found mothers do more in all four stages of cognitive labour, there was one stage where men were more active than others.
Fall prevention for people with dementia could also protect caregivers. New research finds that caregiver burden from falls varies significantly depending on whether they live with their loved one—pointing to the need for tailored interventions. 👉️ buff.ly/yM4L2jd
New research complicates the U.S. maternal mortality story. Pregnancy-related death rates rose steeply among less-educated White women—but declined for more-educated Black women. Yet Black women still die at more than twice the rate of White women overall.📄
UW-Madison Sociology
What happens to miscarriage care when abortion is banned? A new study from Texas shows blood transfusions during pregnancy loss rose 15% above expected levels after the state's total abortion ban took effect. PRB breaks down the findings đź”—
Black women have the highest obesity prevalence among US women. A new study finds that structural disadvantages—growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods, lower adult income—explain the majority of the gap with White women, not individual behaviors like diet and exercise.🔗
Do women across income groups get the birth timing they want? Standard measures say no—higher-income women have far more "intended" births. But ask if the birth came at the "right time" and the gap nearly vanishes. How we measure success shapes what we see—and what we miss.🔗
How do "tough on crime" sentencing policies affect infant health? 1990s "tough on crime" laws had hidden costs: research shows three strikes mandates (long sentences for repeat offenses) worsened Black infant birth weight. đź”—
Reported increases in US maternal mortality rates and entrenched Black/White rate inequity are alarming. We analyze rigorously collected US Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System data to describe…
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
This study found differential associations between fall status over 2 years and care-related difficulties by care partners' living arrangements. Preventing falls for this population can potentially…
You've probably heard childbirth is ~14x riskier than abortion. That figure is from 2005 data. A new study updates it using 2018–2021 data: the ratio is now between 44 and 70 — at least 3x higher. Why? Better maternal death reporting, and abortion has gotten safer. 👉️
CPIPR
CPIPR
When Texas enacted a total abortion ban in 2022, it changed the legal landscape for pregnancy care. Because the medications and procedures used to treat miscarriage are also used in abortion care,…
www.prb.org
Although there are large Black‒White obesity inequities among women in the United States, the factors that explain this racialized health inequity are not well understood, most likely because…
Steep increases in the use of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) have occurred during the past two decades in the United States, driven in part by LARC-focused contraceptive access programs...
While state incarceration policies have received much attention in research on the causes of mass incarceration in the U.S., their roles in shaping population health and health disparities remain…
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
This cross-sectional study found that the ratio of pregnancy- to abortion-related mortality from 2018 to 2021 ranged from 44.3 to 69.6, at least 3 times higher than the ratio of 14.7 calculated using…
Person-centered perinatal health care is associated with feeling empowered to advocate with health care providers during prenatal care, birth, and postpartum. Effective communication and autonomy are…
