Dr. Alison Stuebe

Alison Stuebe, MD

Professor
Department of Maternal and Child Health
Distinguished Scholar in Infant and Young Child Feeding
Department of Maternal and Child Health
Professor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
3010 Old Clinic Building
CB #7516
Chapel Hill 27599
USA

About

Dr. Stuebe is a distinguished scholar in infant and young child feeding in the Department of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) in the Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is also a maternal-fetal medicine subspecialist and professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UNC School of Medicine.

Dr. Stuebe completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She completed fellowship training in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s, and she earned a Masters in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. She has published more than 220 peer-reviewed articles. She has been awarded grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the American Heart Association. Her current research focuses on advancing justice, belonging, and humanity for mothers and birthing people.

She is Chair of the Orange County Board of Health, and she is actively engaged in professional organizations. She was selected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine ad hoc committee, Understanding Breastfeeding Promotion, Initiation and Support Across the United States: An Analysis.  She is a past president of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and a former board member of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.  At the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, she is a member of both the Breastfeeding Expert Work Group, and she chaired the Task Force on Reinventing Postpartum Care. 

In the clinical arena, she is a board-certified Maternal Fetal Medicine physician and Medical Director of Lactation Services for UNC Health Care, leading an interdisciplinary team and directing the Breastfeeding Medicine Consult Service. She teaches in the Mary Rose Tully Lactation Training Initiative and presents at conferences internationally and throughout the US.

Alison Stuebe in the Gillings News

Honors and Awards

Talent Identification Progarm Distinguished Alumae Award
2017, Duke University

Award of Research Excellence
2016, Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Jefferson Pilot Faculty Scholar
2013, University of North Carolina, School of Medicine

Research Activities

Co-Principal Investigator, Thriving Hearts: Healing-Centered, Integrated, Community Maternity Care

Co-Principal Investigator, Analytics & Machine-learning for Maternal-health Interventions (AMMI): A Cross CTSA Collaboration

Co-Principal Investigator, Building Equitable Linkages with Interprofessional Education Valuing Everyone (BELIEVE)

Service Activities

2024-2025   - Committee Member. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine Understanding Breastfeeding Promotion, Initiation and Support Across the United States: An Analysis
2022-2024   -  Member, Using MMRIA to Document Discrimination and Racism (UMDDR) Working Group, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists,
2017- 2022  -  Member, Maternal Mental Health Working Group, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
2017- 2018  -  Chair, Task Force on Reinventing the Postpartum Visit, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
2015- Present - Member, Breastfeeding Expert Working Group, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
2021 – 2023  -  Immediate Past President / Executive Committee Member, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
2019 – 2021  -  President / Executive Committee Member, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
2017 - 2019  -  President-Elect / Executive Committee Member, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine

Practice Activities

The effect of lactation on long-term cardiovascular function. Presented at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX, February 2018.

Using electronic medical record data to quantify racial and ethnic differences in pain management following cesarean birth. Presented at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX, February 2018.

Perinatal mood disorders and hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis dysregulation. Presented at the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX, February 2018.

Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy among Mothers of Medically Fragile Infants, 2018.

Driving Time as a Structural Barrier to Quality Prenatal Care, 2018.

Lactation Safety Recommendation And Reliability Update In 10 Medication Resources From 2007-2017. Presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine 22nd Annual International Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, November 2017.

How Healthcare Providers and Payers Can Enable Breastfeeding: The Role of Law and Policy. Presented at the American Public Health Association 2017 Annual Meeting & Expo, Atlanta, GA, November 2017.

Establishing the 4th Trimester. Presented at the American Public Health Association 2017 Annual Meeting & Expo, Atlanta, GA, November 2017.

Suboptimal Breastfeeding in The United States: Maternal and Pediatric Health Outcomes and Costs. Presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA, November 2017.

Disparities in Breastfeeding: Impact on Maternal and Child Health Outcomes and Costs. Presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA, November 2017.

Lactation Quantitative Sensory Testing (L-QST) in Persistent Breastfeeding Pain.  Presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA, November 2017.

An online Calculator To Estimate The Impact Of Changes in Breastfeeding Rates on Population Health and Costs.  Presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA, November 2017.

Postnatal Unit Experiences of Mothers in The United States, by Cesarean Section or Vaginal Childbirth.  Presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA, November 2017.

"Perinatal mood, antidepressant use and oxytocin during infant feeding." Presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA, November 2017.

"Childhood trauma history, breastfeeding and postpartum depression."  Presented at the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA, November 2017.


Key Publications

Preconception Diet Quality Is Associated with Birth Weight for Gestational Age Among Women in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Siega-Riz AM, Vladutiu CJ, Butera NM, Daviglus M, Gellman M, Isasi CR, Stuebe AM^, Talavera GA, Van Horn L, Sotres-Alvarez D. (2021). Journal of Women's Health, 121(3), 458-466.

Multiparous Black and Latinx Women Face More Barriers to Prenatal Care than White Women. . Fryer K~, Munoz MC, Rahangdale L, Stuebe AM** (2021). Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 8(1), 80-87.

A multi-component, community-engaged intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in perimenopausal Latinas: pilot study protocol. Cortés YI, Berry DC, Perreira KM, Stuebe A^, Stoner L, Giscombé CW, Crandell J, Santíago L, Harris LK, Duran M (2021). Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 7(1).

Reward-related eating, self-regulation, and weight change in pregnancy and postpartum: the Pregnancy Eating Attributes Study. Nansel TR, Lipsky LM, Burger K, Faith M, Nicholson W, Stuebe A^, et al.  (2020). International Journal of Obesity, 44(12), 2444-2454.

Health Needs of Mothers of Infants in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit : A Mixed-Methods Study. Verbiest S, Ferrari R, Tucker C, McClain EK, Charles N, Stuebe AM# (2020). Annals of Internal Medicine, 173(11), S37-S44.

Provider Counseling and Women's Family Planning Decisions in the Postpartum Period. Goulding AN~, Bauer AE, Muddana A, Bryant AG, Stuebe AM (2020). Journal of Women's Health, 29(6), 847-853.

Oxytocin during breastfeeding and maternal mood symptoms. Psychoneuroendocrinology. Whitley J, Wouk K, Bauer AE, Grewen K, Gottfredson NC, Meltzer-Brody S, Propper C, Mills-Koonce R, Pearson B, Stuebe A.  (2019). Psychoneuroendocrinology Journal, 113.

Perinatal Mental Health: The Need For Broader Understanding And Policies That Meet The Challenges. Dossett EC, Stuebe A, Dillion T, Tabb KM (2025). Health Aff (Millwood), 43(4), 462-9.

Cultivating Vital Conditions for Perinatal Well-Being And A Sustained Commitment To Reproductive Justice. Stuebe A, Creegan A, Knox-Kazimierczuk F, Smith MC, Wade S, Tully K (2024). Health Aff (Millwood), 43(4), 470-6.

Enabling Breastfeeding for Women with Obesity. Nommsen-Rivers LA, Cetinkaya H, Stuebe AM (2023). Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports, 12(3), 147-157.

AHRQ Comparative Effectiveness Reviews Management of Postpartum Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy. Steele DW, Adam GP, Saldanha IJ, Kanaan G, Zahradnik ML, Danilack VA, Stuebe AM, Peahl AF, Chen KK, Balk EM. (2023). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US), Rockville(MD).

AHRQ Comparative Effectiveness Reviews Postpartum Care up to 1 Year After Pregnancy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Saldanha IJ, Adam GP, Kanaan G, Zahradnik ML, Steele DW, Danilack VA, Peahl AF, Chen KK, Stuebe AM, Balk EM. (2023). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US), Rockville(MD).

An equitable, community-engaged translational framework for science in human lactation and infant feeding-a report from "Breastmilk Ecology: Genesis of Infant Nutrition (BEGIN) Working Group 5. Nommsen-Rivers L, Black MM, Christian P, Groh-Wargo S, Heinig MJ, Israel-Ballard K, Obbagy J, Palmquist AEL, Stuebe A, Barr SM, Proaño GV, Moloney L, Steiber A, Raiten DJ. (2023). The American journal of clinical nutrition.

Developing Tools to Report Racism in Maternal Health for the CDC Maternal Mortality Review Information Application (MMRIA): Findings from the MMRIA Racism & Discrimination Working Group. Hardeman RR, Kheyfets A, Mantha AB, Cornell A, Crear-Perry J, Graves C, Grobman W, James-Conterelli S, Jones C, Lipscomb B, Ortique C, Stuebe A, Welsh K, Howell EA.  (2022). Matern Child Health J.

After Childbirth: Better Data Can Help Align Postpartum Needs with a New Standard of Care. Interrante JD, Admon LK, Stuebe AM, Kozhimannil KB (2022). Womens Health Issues.

Pharmacologic Treatment for Perinatal Mental Health Disorders. Goulding AN, Metz TD, Middleton JC, Hoffman MC, Miller ES, Moore Simas TA, Stuebe A, Viswanathan M, Gaynes BN. (2022). Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Postpartum Acute Care Utilization in a Health Care System in the Southeastern United States. Busse CE, Pence BW, Vladutiu CJ, Tumlinson K, Tucker C, Stuebe AM (2024). J Womens Health.

Setting the Agenda for Patient-Centered Research in Infant and Young-Child Feeding: Results from the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere. Kellams A, Kair L, Broomfield-Massey K, Harper KD, Bugg K, Stuebe A. (2024). Breastfeed Med.

The Mood, Mother and Child Study: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study and Randomized Controlled Trial. Mills-Koonce WR, Grewen K, O'Shea NG, Pearson B, Strange CG, Meltzer-Brody SE, Guintivano JD and Stuebe AM (2023). JMIR Res Protoc, 12.

Screening and Referral for Social Determinants of Health: Maternity Patient and Health Care Team Perspectives. Tully KP, Gibson AN, Pearsall MS, Umstead K, Gill C, Stuebe AM (2025).  Health Equity, 6(1), 887-897.

A Quality Improvement Effort to Reduce Inpatient Opioid Consumption following Cesarean Delivery. McKenzie CP, Straube L, Webster C, Cobb B, Stuebe A. (2025). Am J Perinatol.

Perinatal morbidity and health utilization among mothers of medically fragile infants. Stuebe AM, Tucker C, Ferrari RM, McClain E, Jonsson-Funk M, Pate V, Bryant K, Charles N, Verbiest S.  (2022). J Perinatol., 42(2), 169-76.

Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Postpartum Pain Evaluation and Management. Johnson JD~, Asiodu IV, McKenzie CP, Tucker C, Tully KP, Bryant K, Verbiest S, Stuebe AM.  (2019). Obstetrics & Gynecology, 134(6), 1155-1162.

Education

  • MSc, Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston MA, 2008
  • Fellowship, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston MA, 2008
  • Residency, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women's/Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston MA, 2005
  • 2001, Medicine, Washington University, School of Medicine, St. Louis MO, 2001
  • BS, Biology, Duke University, Durham NC, 1995