Division of Reproductive and Population Health

The Division of Reproductive and Population Health (“Pop Health”), founded 2017, is committed to improving reproductive health, wellbeing, and equity through high-quality research and evidence-based programs. Our work recognizes that health is influenced not just by individual-level factors or healthcare service delivery, but also by the social and socioeconomic contexts in which people live. Reproductive health inequities overwhelmingly stem from these latter sociocultural factors, and we endeavor to address those inequities only with broader approaches, rigorous public health and social scientific methodologies, and community-informed perspectives.

Members of this division conduct rigorous research, provide leadership to several public health initiatives, partner with diverse stakeholders, and endeavor to translate research into policy and practice through dissemination and implementation. Topic areas include birth equity, contraception, pregnancy and family planning, abortion, and other health disparities. The division is also home to the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE) an initiative that supports and translates rigorous, policy-relevant research on reproductive health, equity, and autonomy in Wisconsin and beyond.

Our greatest strength exists within our diverse partnerships. Faculty and staff in the division collaborate with professionals across the UW-Madison campus. Connections include the Department of Anthropology Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, Department of Population Health Sciences, the School of Nursing, the UW-Madison Prevention Research Center, the Center for Demography and Ecology, and the La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Wendland publishes study about maternal mortality misinformation in Global Public Health

Claire Wendland, MD, PhD, professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health, co-authored a new study published in Global Public Health. Co-authors include Lynn Morgan.In “Debunking misinformation about abortion-related maternal mortality in Africa,” Wendland and co-authors noted how misinformation in Africa abo... more

Wendland receives 2025 UW Hilldale Award

Each year, the four UW–Madison faculty divisions each recognize one faculty member for their contributions to teaching, research and service with the Hilldale Award. Claire Wendland, MD, PhD, professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, received the Hilldale Award for social sciences. Wendland a... more

Green’s REAL Lab shares policy brief on Birth Cost Recovery

Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health, recently co-authored a new policy brief on Birth Cost Recovery. Co-authors include Klaira Lerma, MPH, Laura Swan, PhD, LCSW, Eva Strelitz-Block, BA, and Emma Romell, MS. The policy brief was published through Green’s Reproductive Eq... more

Senderowicz quoted in the New Yorker

Leigh Senderowicz, ScD, MPH, assistant professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health, was quoted in a recent story published in the New Yorker.In “The End of Children,” Gideon Lewis-Kraus evaluated the decline in global birth rates and the implications this has on the stability of society. Senderowicz was fe... more

Higgins reflects on GWIMS/BIRCWH Women’s Health Research Mentorship Award

In late 2024, the UW School of Medicine and Public Health Group on Women in Medicine and Science (GWIMS) presented awards at the annual GWIMS Women in Medicine and Science Leadership Conference. Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH, director of the Division of Reproductive and Population Health and the UW Collaborative for Reproductive Eq... more
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