Lisa Kane Low, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN

Dr. Kane Low focuses her research on advancing evidence based care practices during childbirth that promote optimal outcomes for childbearing women and their families. She conducts clinical research aimed at answering significant questions about the ways in which women can best be cared for during the process of normal birth particularly during second stage labor to prevent pelvic floor injury. Currently, Dr. Low is involved in a number of NIH-funded and internally grant supported studies focusing on the process of care during childbirth including: Clinical and Non-Clinical Factors Influencing the use of Electronic Fetal Monitoring, the SCOR Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women’s Pelvic Floor Health During Childbirth directed by Dr. John De Lancey, Promoting Optimal Outcomes to Prevent Prolapse with Dr. Dee Fenner, Defining Events during Second Stage Labor and a prevention and treatment series of projects focused on incontinence in childbearing women and older age women. She had worked with a model program called Doulas Care to provide volunteer Doulas for low income women and has conducted studies in Honduras aimed at the prevention of post partum hemorrhage. She also has extensive experience working with multi-stakeholder groups to develop and implement model practice and national guidelines focused on the provision of maternity care. She also works as a certified nurse midwife at the University of Michigan Health System.

While Dr. Kane Low has extensive teaching experience across the nurse midwifery education curriculum, her primary teaching responsibility is the course entitled Care of Childbearing Women whose subject matter compliments her own research and clinical expertise. She has also taught an International Women’s Health course in the Doctoral program and provides research mentoring for doctoral and master’s students in the School of Nursing. In addition to training future nurses, Dr. Low teaches Perspectives in Women’s Health in the U-M Women’s Studies Department, and works with almost 400 undergraduates every year, showcasing the value of a nursing and feminist perspective in addressing women’s health issues for non-nursing students. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Kane Low enjoys the opportunity to work with students through non-traditional service learning mechanisms to foster their interests in Midwifery, Women’s Health and Maternal Child Health both domestically and abroad and works with graduate midwifery and medical students during their clinical experiences at the University of Michigan Women’s Hospital Birth Center where she practices as a certified nurse midwife.