Ogechukwu Williams, PhD, associate professor in the Department of History, published a new monograph, “Birth Politics: Colonial Power, Medical Pluralism, and Maternity in Nigeria.”

The book is the first comprehensive history of childbirth in Nigeria and examines more than a century of changes in maternity care. Williams traces the development of three major birthing institutions — biomedical hospitals, faith-based delivery homes and traditional midwifery — and shows how their intertwined histories reflect struggles over power, legitimacy and the politics of reproduction in both colonial and postcolonial eras.

The monograph is both a scholarly achievement and a call to rethink current maternal health strategies. It represents a significant contribution to African history, global health studies and the interdisciplinary study of reproduction.