Marit Bovbjerg

Marit Bovbjerg, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the College of Health, Oregon State University, specializing in U.S. maternity care, midwifery, and community birth for low-risk women. Her work also explores physical activity during pregnancy/postpartum and its impact on maternal outcomes.

• Education:
  • PhD in Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2010)
  • MS in Health Evaluation Sciences, University of Virginia
  • BA in Chemistry and Music, University of Virginia
• Research Focus:
  • Equitable and evidence-based maternity care
  • Comparative safety of community birth (home/birth centers) vs. hospital births
  • Over-medicalization of childbirth in high-income countries
  • Improved epidemiological methods for neonatal and physical activity data analysis

Scientific Awards:

• Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award (2019), supporting collaboration with the National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre at University College Cork

Advising and Grants:

• Currently accepting new MPH students, not PhD students
• Funded by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Laboratory & Collaborations:

• Core member of Uplift: A Research and Reproductive Equity Laboratory at Oregon State University
• Collaborates with Dr. Melissa Cheyney (community birth outcomes) and Dr. Sarah Meaney (maternity care in Ireland)