Mara Rhodenizer is currently a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing. Rhodenizer’s research interests include gaining a better understanding of how changes in intrapartum and postpartum care over the last 20 years in the U.S. may be impacting maternal physiological health, maternal-newborn synchrony, breastfeeding status, and family functioning. As part of a mixed-methods approach, she utilizes a combination of observational methods, semi-structured interviews, and selected biomarker data to gain further insight into the physiological effects specific to postpartum fatigue, stress, and pain.

Rhodenizer received her BSN from the University of Virginia in 2001, and is the mother of three boys. Outside of her extensive nursing career, she worked as an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant in both community and tertiary care hospital settings. Throughout her clinical career, she precepted and/or instructed many nursing students, doulas, nurses new to maternal health, medical students, residents, and paramedics while caring for many diverse women and their families.