Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, MD, MPH, MS

Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds is an Associate Professor of Obstetrics Gynecology (OB/GYN) at the Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) with training in general OB/GYN, health services research, public health, and clinical ethics. Her research interests are in patient-provider communication and shared decision-making in reproductive health care. She is interested in understanding the impact of race, class, and culture on patient preferences and risk perceptions; physician decision-making and counseling; and ultimately, variations in treatment provision and service delivery. Dr. Tucker Edmonds’ work currently focuses on communication and decision-making in the management of periviable deliveries. She utilizes qualitative and quantitative methodologies to develop decision support tools and interventions for parents facing this (and other) preference sensitive decisions in high-risk obstetrical settings. Dr. Tucker Edmonds also serves as her department’s Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Diversity, as well as an Assistant Dean for Diversity Affairs for IUSM. At the national level, Dr Tucker Edmonds previously served on the Ethics Committee for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). She now serves on ACOG’s Committee on Government Affairs and also serves as the Legislative Affairs chairperson for Indiana ACOG. Dr. Tucker Edmonds was an Anniversary Fellow for the National Academy of Medicine from 2015-2017, during which time she served as an author of the consensus report entitled, “The health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids: The current state of the evidence and recommendations for research.” She remains active with NAM and is currently serving on the Committee Assessing Health Outcomes by Birth Setting.

For more information, visit: https://medicine.iu.edu/faculty/21349/tucker-edmonds-brownsyne/ 

Parental Perspectives on Periviable Birth: Exploring Values, Attitudes, and Coping Strategies

Periviable birth—an extreme degree of prematurity—is among the leading causes of infant death and childhood disability. These births disproportionately impact minority communities. When periviable delivery is threatened, pregnant women, with their families and physicians, must make ‘end-of-life decisions’ about resuscitation and palliation at the very beginning of life. Little is known about how parents make these high-stakes, value-laden decisions—particularly their attitudes, perceptions, and coping mechanisms related to death or long-term disability, which may inform their decisions. Additionally, we do not know if these attitudes, perceptions, and coping mechanisms differ across racially and ethnically diverse populations. The proposed study will address these knowledge gaps and provide the research team with data to: 1) develop a subsequent decision-support intervention that will assist parents and their physicians in making more informed, shared decisions about periviable delivery management, and 2) help determine if and how this intervention should be culturally-tailored.