Research and Teaching Interests

Dr. Mann uses qualitative research methods and social theory to examine how reproductive health promotion efforts unfold in medicine and public health and how social processes shape the experiences of people of reproductive age regarding sex, contraception, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenthood.

Her current research projects focus on (1) the politics and practices of pregnancy prevention and (2) the biomedicalization of advanced maternal age. The first project is a multi-site study that examines the social construction of unintended pregnancy as a social, economic, and health problem that disproportionately affects pregnancy-capable people who are young, economically vulnerable, and racially marginalized, the positioning of highly effective contraceptive technologies as its “silver bullet” solution, and the unintended consequences of contraception promotion efforts. The second project uses multiple qualitative methods to explore the significance and implications of classifying women who have first births at advanced maternal age (i.e., age 35 and older) as “high risk” in relation to the fact that many are socially and economically advantaged.

Dr. Mann holds a joint appointment in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies and serves as Co-Director of the Carolina Consortium on Health, Inequalities, and Populations (CHIP). She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on maternal and child health, LGBTQ+ health, and theory.