Maternal Health and Family Relationships: Pathways to Resilience and Well-Being
A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760). This special issue belongs to the section "Family Studies".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 6
Special Issue Editors
Interests: racial and ethnic minority families; parenting; health and family relationships; racial socialization
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Research has examined the impacts that maternal health issues such as quality of prenatal care, pregnancy complications, premature birth and delivery, and postpartum care have on women’s health and well-being. More research is needed, however, that explores how family relationships and familial functioning may influence women’s resilience and well-being during and after maternal health challenges. In this Special Issue, we seek empirical, conceptual, and review articles that examine connections between maternal health issues, family relationships, and women’s resilience. We are particularly interested in articles that incorporate strength-based approaches or intersectional and critical frameworks. Research that blends concepts and methodological approaches across disciplines to examine maternal health, women’s resilience, and family relationships is particularly welcome.
Potential topics for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following:
- What are the family processes that support or complicate women’s resilience during and after maternal health challenges?
- In what ways do structural barriers and institutionalized practices influence women’s resilience and family relationships surrounding maternal health?
- How do cultural, political, and economic contexts shape family processes and family support regarding maternal health challenges?
- What are the family relationships and family support systems such as for members of LGBTQ+ communities who experience maternal health challenges?
- How does structural racism impact family functioning and resilience among racial minority women and their families who are negotiating maternal health challenges?
- What roles do fictive kin and extended family networks have in supporting women and families who are negotiating maternal health challenges?
- In what ways can healthcare providers and other professionals promote and strengthen family support in regard to maternal health and women’s resilience?
- What do linkages between family relationships, maternal health challenges, and women’s resilience look like across global contexts?
- What methodological approaches can be used from a family systems perspective to explore connections between maternal health, women’s resilience, and family functioning?
- How do current social policies shape the ways that families respond to maternal health challenges?
- In what ways do family functioning and family support regarding maternal health vary between rural and urban populations?
Potential contributors are welcome to contact Dr. Edwards-Bianchi (edwardsbianc@etsu.edu) regarding their submission ideas.
Dr. Adrienne Edwards-Bianchi
Prof. Dr. David Knox
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- maternal health
- maternal health disparities
- resilience
- family relationships
- family support
- family systems
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