Main description:

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

Maternal Health and American Cultural Values: Beyond the Social Determinants is an essential resource for clinical and public health practitioners and their students, providing a framework for graduate-level courses in public health, the health sciences, women's studies, and the social sciences. The book also targets anthropologists, sociologists, and women studies scholars seeking to explain the links between American cultural decision-making and health outcomes. Policy-makers, ethicists, journalists, and advocates for reproductive health justice also would find the text a useful resource.

Contents:

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

Chapter 6 American mothers in the military community

Lana J. Bernat

PART III Mothers in a Divided Nation

Chapter 7 Immigrants, refugees and undocumented mothers

Barbara A. Anderson & Lisa R. Roberts

Chapter 8 Maternal health outcomes and othering: Ethnicity and race

Rachel S. Simmons

Chapter 9 Cultural conflicts and maternal autonomy

Joan MacEachen

Chapter 10 The national conversation on maternal health

Barbara A. Anderson

PART IV Community Forces Influencing Maternal Health

Chapter 11 Healthcare providers: Leadership for optimal maternal health

Joan MacEachen & Barbara A. Anderson

Chapter 12 Survival services for American mothers

Jennifer W. Foster

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

Chapter 16 Conclusions

Lisa R. Roberts & Barbara A. Anderson

Index