Professor Cynthia Fair in the Departments of Public Health and Human Service Studies teaches a class that helps students better understand childbirth, including the language, mechanics and cultural beliefs around human reproduction.
As it approaches its silver anniversary as an upper-level elective, a popular seminar led by one of Elon University’s most prolific teacher-scholar-mentors has been praised by alumni for inspiring their own careers in helping to bring new life into the world.
The “Childbirth” core seminar created and led by Cynthia Fair, a professor of public health and human service studies and the Watts/Thompson Professor at Elon University, has become a transformative course on campus that Fair describes today as a highlight of her teaching career and one of her favorite courses.
Students and graduates say they feel the same way and several have cited the course as a meaningful experience that influences their career journeys through its exploration of the social, historical and cultural aspects of childbirth.
First offered in 2003, the course’s origins date to Fair’s undergraduate studies at Davidson College when she learned about a professor who taught a childbirth course to non-biology majors. “It was one of those moments where the clouds parted,” said Fair, who has mentored dozens of undergraduate researchers at Elon University over the past two decades. “I knew I was meant to teach this course.”
Fair brings three aspects of experience to the classroom: lived experience as a mother, clinical experience working with pregnant people and families, and research on childbirth topics such as waterbirth and fertility.
“Throughout the course we look at the historical portrayal of women’s bodies, the effects of structural racism, cultural anthropology, the evolution of midwifery care, and even the language we use around birth,” Fair said. “Language shapes how we see the world, and it shapes how care is delivered. I love teaching this course because I lived it.”
Students also examine where birth occurs, from hospitals to homes to birth centers, and consider how environments, systems and support networks influence labor and outcomes.
Fair said she hopes students leave the course with more than academic knowledge. She wants them to develop a voice they can use in any medical context. Discussions often focus on strategies to reduce maternal mortality and how to support a birthing person’s decisions.
“Everyone is born, yet we rarely talk about birth,” Fair said. “Students have so many questions, and I create a space where no question is ‘stupid’.”
A signature assignment asks students to reflect on their own births to explore how personal experience, family stories and cultural messaging shape their understanding of childbirth.
Throughout the semester, the classroom becomes an interactive space. Students learn and practice baby massage techniques and explore breastfeeding practices and holds. Fair regularly invites guest lectures, including a childbirth educator, midwife, doula and neonatal intensive care unit clinical social worker.
Whether students pursue clinical careers or become advocates for maternal health, Fair said, she is proud of the course’s impact.
“My dream is for students who enter health-related fields to nurture this passion and to improve outcomes. I also want each student to know how to advocate for themselves in a medical setting.” Fair said.
Over the years, Fair’s course has shaped career paths for several students who either discovered or deepened their passion for maternal and child health. Some Elon alumni now volunteer their time to visit with Fair’s current students.
Cat Palmer ’15, a practicing nurse-midwife, visited the class during the most recent fall semester to share her own story with current students.
“The midwifery philosophy honors the autonomy and sovereignty a person giving birth has over their body and their own experience,” Palmer said. “Dr. Fair’s class sparked a passion I did not know I had, and demonstrated that scientific rigor, public health, healing arts and service to one’s community could all meet in the discipline of midwifery. In many ways, the balance of didactic coursework and experiential learning in the ‘real world’ that I received at Elon set me up perfectly for my career as a midwife.”
Because of Fair’s course, Harper McEvoy ’25 shifted her own career trajectory from pursing a degree in physician assistant studies to becoming a midwife. McEvoy had long been interested in childbirth and was even able to connect with Palmer to talk about similar experiences.
McEvoy will soon attend Yale University School of Nursing, where she plans to become a nurse-midwife and a women’s health nurse practitioner.
“Hearing real-life stories and participating in hands-on exercises helped us truly experience how these professionals create environments that advocate for and support women through such a transformative experience,” McEvoy said. “Dr. Fair’s course helped me realize what truly excites and fulfills me, and it gave me the clarity and confidence to change direction. I realized I wanted to be someone who honors birth, advocates for mothers and stands with them through both the most challenging and joyful moments.”