2025 Krakowiak, Paula PhD, MS; Morton, Christine H. PhD; McCain, Christy MPH; Sun, Dan MA; Mathur, Deepika MD; Butwick, Alexander J. MBBS, MS; Gupta, Neeru MD; Nijagal, Malini A. MD, MPH; Williams, Amanda MD, MPH; Seacrist, Marla PhD, RN; Shields, Laurence E. MD; Reyes, Carolina MD; Klassen. Pregnancy-Related Mortality in California Due to Obstetric Hemorrhage. Obstetrics and Gynecology. DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000005847
2024 Howard, J, Lawton, S, Dulaney, W, Gore, A, Hebbar, L, Morton, C, Goodier, C, Alfred, M. Spatial and racial/ethnic variation in the prevalence of cesarean delivery in a South Carolina medical center. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-024-02218-3
2024 “We don’t really address the trauma”: Patients’ perspectives on postpartum care needs after severe maternal morbidities. Niles, P., Nack A., Eniola, F., Searing, H., & Morton, CH. Maternal and Child Health Journal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-024-03927-1
2024 Franck, L.S., Magaña, J., Bisgaard, R., Lothe, B., Sun, Y., & Morton, C.H. Mobile-enhanced family integrated care for preterm infants: A qualitative study of parents’ views. NEC Innovation https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecinn.2024.100284
2023 Razdan, S., Hedli, L.C., Sigurdson, K, Profit, J., and C.H. Morton. Disparity drivers, potential solutions, and the role of a health equity dashboard in the neonatal intensive care unit: A qualitative study. J Perinatology (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-023-01856-5
2023 Akintunde, Tosin; Howard, Jeffrey; Dulaney, Wilson; Gore, Amartha; Morton, CH; Hebbar, Latha; Goodier, Chris; Alfred, Myrtede. Racial and ethnic disparities in long-term contraception use among the birthing population at an academic hospital in the Southeastern United States. DOI: 10.1177/21695067231192873/ ID: PRO-23-0087
2023 Alfred, M. C., Wilson, D., DeForest, E., Lawton, S., Gore, A., Howard, J., Morton, CH, Hebbar, L., Goodier, C. Adverse Events in Maternal Care: Investigating Racial/Ethnic Disparities at the System Level. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjq.2023.06.007
2021 Krakowiak, P; Sun, D; McCain, C; Morton, CH; Ramos, DE; Reynen, DJ; Main, EK; Mitchell, C. Enhanced maternal mortality surveillance identifies higher mortality ratios and greater racial/ethnic disparity than death certificates. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Vol. 224, No. 2, pp.S229-S230.
2021 Morton, CH; Pratt, SD; Hall, MF: Semenuk, K; Shaefer, J; Klassen, M; Karsnitz, D, and Chazotte, C. National Partnership for Maternal Safety Consensus Bundle on Support after a Severe Maternal Event. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. Vol. 50, No 1, pp.88-101 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2020.09.160
2020 Sigurdson, K; Profit, J; Dhurjati, R; Morton, CH; Scala, M; Vernon, L; Randolph, A; Phan, J; Franck, L. Former NICU Families Describe Gaps in Family-Centered Care Qualitative Health Research. 2020. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/p10.1177/1049732320932897
2019 Morton, CH and Simkin P. Can respectful maternity care save lives? Birth https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12444
2019 Judy AE, McCain CL, Lawton ES, Morton CH, Main EK, Druzin ML. Confirming the paradigm shift: systolic hypertension and preeclampsia-related mortality in California. Obstetrics & Gynecology. Vol. 133, No. 6, June, pp.1151-1159.
2019 Morton CH, Van Otterloo LR, Seacrist MJ, and EK Main. Translating maternal mortality reviews into action: Quality improvement opportunities among leading causes of pregnancy-related deaths in California. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.03.003
2019 Morton CH, Seacrist MJ, Van Otterloo LR, and EK Main. Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths from Preeclampsia. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.02.008
2019 Seacrist MJ, Morton CH, Van Otterloo LR, and EK Main. Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths from Sepsis. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.02.007
2019 Seacrist MJ, Van Otterloo LR, Morton CH and EK Main. Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths from Obstetric Hemorrhage. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.03.002
2019 Van Otterloo LR, Seacrist MJ, Morton CH and EK Main. Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths from Venous Thromboembolism. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.02.006
2019 Van Otterloo LR, Morton CH, Seacrist MJ, and EK Main. Quality Improvement Opportunities Identified Through Case Review of Pregnancy-Related Deaths from Cardiovascular Disease. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.03.001.
2019 Sigurdson K, Mitchell B, Liu J, Morton CH, Gould JB, Lee HC, Capdarest-Arest N, Profit J. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Care: A Systematic Review. Pediatrics. 144 (2) e20183114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3114
2018 Morton CH, Henley M, Seacrist M and LM Roth. Bearing Witness: U.S. and Canadian Maternity Support Workers’ Observations of Disrespectful Care in Childbirth. Birth. 10.1111/birt.12373
2018 Dhurjati R, Wahid N*, Sigurdson K, Morton CH, Kaplan H, Gould JB, and J Profit. Never judge a book by its cover: How NICU evaluators reach conclusions about quality of care. Journal of Perinatology. doi:10.1038/s41372-018-0092-0
2018 Sigurdson K, Morton CH, Mitchell B, and J Profit. Disparities in NICU Quality of Care: A Qualitative Study of Family and Clinician Accounts. Journal of Perinatology. doi:10.1038/s41372-018-0057-3
2018 MorrisT, Gomez A*, Naiman-Sessions M, CH Morton. Paradox Lost on the U.S.-Mexico Border: U.S. Latinas and Cesarean Rates. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-018-1701-9
2017 Morris T, McNamara K** and CH Morton. 2017. Hospital-Ownership Status and Cesarean Sections in the United States: The Effect of For-Profit Hospitals. Birth. Dec;44(4):325-330. DOI: 10.1111/birt.12299
2017 Bernstein PS, Martin JN, Barton JR, Shields LE, Druzin ML, Scavone BM, Frost J, Morton CH, Ruhl C, Slager J, Tsigas EZ, Jaffer S, and MK Menard. National Partnership for Maternal Safety: Consensus bundle on severe hypertension during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Obstetrics & Gynecology. 130 (2):347-357 DOI: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002115
2016 MacDorman MF, Declercq E, Cabral H, and CH Morton. Recent Increases in the United States Maternal Mortality Rate: Disentangling Trends from Measurement Issues. Obstetrics and Gynecology. 128 (3): 445-455. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000001556
2016 Roth LM, Henley M, Seacrist MJ and CH Morton. North American Nurses’ and Doulas’ Views of Each Other. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nurses. Nov – Dec;45(6):790-800. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2016.06.011
2016 Dekker RK, Morton CH, Singleton, P and A Lyndon. Women’s experiences being diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy: A qualitative study. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health; 61(4):467-73. doi:10.1111/jmwh.12448
2016 Morris T, Meredith O*, Schulman M*, and CH Morton. Race, Class, and Nulliparous, Term, Singleton, Vertex Cesarean Indication: A Case Study of a New England Tertiary Hospital. Women’s Health Issues; 26(3):329-35. PMID: 27017294
2015 Morton CH. Stories behind the numbers: Social invisibility of maternal morbidities in the United States. AIMS (Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services) Journal, 27 (2): 17-18.
2015 Hameed A, Lawton E, McCain C, Morton CH, Mitchell C, Main EK and Foster E. Pregnancy-related cardiovascular deaths in California: Beyond peripartum cardiomyopathy. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2015.05.008.
2015 Main EK, McCain CL, Morton CH, Holtby S, and ES Lawton. Pregnancy-related mortality in California: Causes, characteristics and improvement opportunities. Obstetrics and Gynecology. PMID: 25751214
2014 Morton, Christine H. The problem of increasing maternal morbidity: Integrating normality and risk in maternity care in the United States. Birth 41(2), 119-121. doi: 10.1111/birt.12117.
2013 Mitchell Connie, Lawton Elizabeth, Morton Christine H., McCain Christy, Holtby Susan, Elliott Main. California Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review: Mixed methods approach for improved case identification, cause of death analyses and translation of findings. Maternal Child Health Journal DOI:10.1007/s10995-013-1267-0.
2012 Main EK, Christine H. Morton, David Hopkins, Giovanna Giuliani, Kathryn Melsop and Jeffrey B Gould. Creating a Public Agenda for Maternity Safety and Quality in Cesarean Delivery. Obstetrics and Gynecology 120 (5): 1194-1198.
2012 Reiger K and CH Morton. Standardising or individualising? A critical analysis of the ‘discursive imaginaries’ shaping maternity care reform. International Journal of Childbirth 2(3): 173-186.
2010 Sandall J, CH Morton and D Bick. Safety in childbirth and the three ‘C’s: community, context, and culture. Midwifery 26: 481–482
2009 Morton CH. Where Are the Ethnographies of US Hospital Birth? Anthropology News.
2009 Morton CH. A Fine Line: Ethical Issues Facing Childbirth Educators Negotiating Evidence, Beliefs and Experience. Journal of Perinatal Education, 2009; 18(1): 25-31.
2007 Morton CH. and C Hsu. Contemporary Dilemmas in American Childbirth Education: Findings from a Comparative Ethnographic Study. Journal of Perinatal Education. Special Issue on Listening to Mothers II. 2007: Vol. 16 (4): 25-37.
White Papers/Reports
2021 California Pregnancy-Related Deaths, 2008-2016 https://www.cmqcc.org/research/ca-pamr-maternal-mortality-review
2020 Eniola F, Nack A, Niles P, Morton CH, and H Searing. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. 2020. Women’s experiences with severe maternal morbidity in New York City: A qualitative report. New York. https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/csi/womens-experience-with-severe-maternal-morbidity-nyc-qualitative-report.pdf
2019 The California Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review: Pregnancy-associated suicide, 2002-2012 https://www.cmqcc.org/research/ca-pamr-maternal-mortality-review
2018 Morton CH, Scott KA. Racial Equity in Hospital Birth Outcomes: A summary of the literature and recommendations for action. Palo Alto, CA: CMQCC.
2018 The California Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review: Report from 2002 to 2007 maternal death reviews https://www.cmqcc.org/research/ca-pamr-maternal-mortality-review
2017 Morton CH, Pine KH, Turon J** and EK Main. Lessons from the Initiative to Reduce Early Elective Deliveries in California and the United States. Palo Alto, CA: CMQCC.
2014 Roth LM, Heidbreder N, Henley MM, Marek M, Naiman-Sessions M, Torres J and Morton, CH. Maternity Support Survey: A Report on the Cross-National Survey of Doulas, Childbirth Educators and Labor and Delivery Nurses in the United States and Canada. (Available at: www.maternitysupport.wordpress.com).
2011 Main EK, Morton CH, Hopkins D, Giuliani G, Melsop K and Gould JB. 2011. Cesarean Deliveries, Outcomes, and Opportunities for Change in California: Toward a Public Agenda for Maternity Care Safety and Quality. Palo Alto, CA: CMQCC. (Available at www.cmqcc.org)
Book / Toolkit Sections
2021 Pine, KH and CH Morton. 2021. Sustainable Metrics: Using measurement-based quality improvement to improve maternity practice while avoiding frustration and pitfalls, chapter 7 in Sustainable Birth in Disruptive Times, Global Maternal and Child Health, edited by K Gutschow et al., Springer Nature Switzerland AG. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-54775-2_7#DOI
2021 Morton, CH, Sigurdson, K, & Profit, J. 2021. Race and gender in the NICU: Wimpy white boys and strong black girls, chapter 6 in Pink and Blue: The Gendered Culture of Pediatrics, edited by Elena Conis and Aimee Medeiros, Rutgers University Press. https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/pink-and-blue/9781978809840
2018 Morton CH. “Foreword,” in Oparah JC, Arega H, Hudson D, Jones L, and Oseguera, T. Battling over Birth: Black Women and the Maternal Health Care Crisis, Black Women Birthing Justice, Praeclarus Press, 2018.
2017 Morton CH and J Trial. “Racial disparities in cardiovascular disease: Clinical implications,” in Afshan B. Hameed, Christine H. Morton, and Allana Moore, Improving Health Care Response to Cardiovascular Disease in Pregnancy and Postpartum Developed under contract #11-10006 with the California Department of Public Health, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division. Published by the California Department of Public Health, 2017.
2015 Morton CH, Seacrist MJ, Torres J and N Heidbreder, “Cultivating Collaborative Relationships Between Doulas and Labor & Delivery Nurses in the Provision of Labor Support,” in Angela Castaneda and Julie Searcy, Editors, Intimate Care: Doulas and the Birthing Body, Demeter Press, 2015.
2015 Morton CH, Price M, and A Lyndon. 2015. “Women’s Experience of Obstetric Hemorrhage: Informational, Emotional and Physical Health Needs,” in Lyndon A, Lagrew D, Shields L, Main E, Cape V. Improving Health Care Response to Obstetric Hemorrhage. (California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative Toolkit to Transform Maternity Care) Developed under contract #11-10006 with the California Department of Public Health; Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Division; Published by the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative.
2015 Morton CH and M Henley**. 2015. “United States of America,” in Patricia Kennedy and Naonori Kodate, editors, Maternity services and policy in an international context: Risk, citizenship and welfare regimes, New York: Routledge.
2008 Morton CH. 2008. “Breastfeeding,” in Amy Lind and Stephanie Brzuzy, eds. Battleground: Women, Gender and Sexuality, Greenwood Press.
1998 Press N, Browner CH, Tran D, Morton CH and B LeMaster. 1998. “Provisional Normalcy and “Perfect Babies”: Pregnant Women’s Attitudes Toward Disability in the Context of Prenatal Testing,” pp. 46-65 in Sarah Franklin and Helena Ragone, editors, Reproducing Reproduction: Kinship, Power and Technological Innovation. University of Pennsylvania Press.
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