I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at The Ohio State University and a graduate student affiliate of the Institute for Population Research. Beginning Fall 2025, I will be the Frank H.T. Rhodes Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cornell Population Center at Cornell University. I have two complementary research agendas that address my broad interests in health, inequality, and reproduction.

One strand of my research focuses on how gender, inequality, and medicine shape people’s healthcare experiences and decision-making, particularly during pregnancy and birth, although, I am also interested in women’s and reproductive health more broadly. I have published some of this research in Social Science & Medicine and Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

In a second strand of my research, I explore how people make decisions about pregnancy and parenting with a demographic focus on fertility change in both the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. This body of work has been interdisciplinary and takes a life course perspective to understanding people’s reproductive lives. I have published some of this research in Journal of Primary Care and Community Health and Reproductive Health.

My dissertation examines experiences with gestational diabetes (GDM), a high-risk pregnancy condition, and draws upon interviews with people diagnosed with GDM, their partners, and medical professionals. I argue that gestational diabetes is a case of biographical disruption that challenges many of our tightly held ideals about health, namely that it is distributed fairly and meritocratically, and is a condition that exacerbates notions of maternal responsibility and structural inequalities. I also explore how clinical uncertainty and discretion shape providers’ treatment decisions and approaches to medical management of gestational diabetes.

My publications are either linked below or listed on my CV. If you have any issues with accessing a paper, or have any questions for me, please feel free to reach out at church.213@osu.edu.

In this paper, I (1) extend our understanding of how normalized forms of violence shape people's pregnancy and birth experiences and (2) demonstrate how obstetric violence unfolds through interpersonal interactions, the organization of labor in medic

In this paper, I (1) extend our understanding of how normalized forms of violence shape people's pregnancy and birth experiences and (2) demonstrate how obstetric violence unfolds through interpersonal interactions, the organization of labor in medicalized birth, and institutional policies and obstetric practices.

In this paper, I examine women's perceptions and experiences of solitary support from male partners during COVID-19 hospital visitor restrictions. I find that participants reported mixed feelings about birthing with a solitary support person. Margina

In this paper, I examine women's perceptions and experiences of solitary support from male partners during COVID-19 hospital visitor restrictions. I find that participants reported mixed feelings about birthing with a solitary support person. Marginalized women have greater concerns about birth outcomes and are more likely to feel afraid or isolated while others valued increased privacy.

In this paper, we use interviews and focus group discussions with reproductive-age women to explore how they perceived and experienced interactions with healthcare providers (HCPs) around their fertility. We find that participants want more informati

In this paper, we use interviews and focus group discussions with reproductive-age women to explore how they perceived and experienced interactions with healthcare providers (HCPs) around their fertility. We find that participants want more information about fertility from their HCPs even if not actively trying to become pregnant, which is not well accounted for in existing pregnancy options or fertility counseling.

This scoping review synthesizes thirty years of research on the determinants of fertility desires in sub-Saharan Africa to better understand what factors underlie men and women's stated fertility desires and how they weigh the costs and benefits of h

This scoping review synthesizes thirty years of research on the determinants of fertility desires in sub-Saharan Africa to better understand what factors underlie men and women's stated fertility desires and how they weigh the costs and benefits of having (more) children. We demonstrate how both traditionally supportive and and contemporary disruptive forces simultaneously influence fertility desires in the region.