DPhil student Sahana Narayan has been named a recipient of the 40 Under 40 Public Health Catalyst Award, recognising emerging global leaders whose work is shaping a more just and equitable future. The honour highlights her outstanding research into improving maternal health and advancing equity in reproductive care.
Sahana is a doctoral researcher in the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health at the University of Oxford, one of only twelve funded through the Medical Research Council (MRC) Doctoral Training Programme.
Researching risk, autonomy, and maternal outcomes
Her DPhil investigates how risk is communicated and negotiated during childbirth, and how these practices influence autonomy, clinical decision-making, and maternal outcomes. By examining the systemic dynamics that shape obstetric care, including structural inequities and the undervaluing of patients’ lived experiences, her research aims to reduce adverse outcomes such as fetal hypoxia, postpartum haemorrhage, sepsis, and maternal mortality. Integrating clinical inquiry with critical analysis of power, bias, and data systems, she seeks to contribute evidence that drives safer, more respectful, and more person-centred maternity care.
Sahana’s academic trajectory reflects rigorous interdisciplinary training, including master’s degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University, where she specialised in bioethics, social medicine, scientific communication, and reproductive health policy.
From Harvard to Oxford: an interdisciplinary path
Her previous research, conducted at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, spanning Uganda, Cameroon, Ukraine, and the United States, has placed particular emphasis on the experiences of those who are most impacted by gaps in maternal and reproductive health systems.
Sahana has also published across leading public health and clinical journals on topics ranging from postpartum blood pressure monitoring to barriers to respectful maternity care.
Sahana is also a Female Welfare Rep at St Cross College.
My research looks at how clinicians interpret fetal monitoring data during labor and delivery and how those interpretations shape communication, consent, and decision-making, so women’s health/welfare, autonomy, and intentional support are very much at the heart of what I do! -Sahana Narayan
what is risk in pregnancy and labour
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