Dr. Judith Lothian: Reflections on the Contributions of a Childbirth Education Scholar
Morgan Manghera
Dr. Judith Lothian, Ph.D., RN, LCCE, FACCE, was a longtime associate editor of The Journal of Perinatal Education (JPE). In a guest editorial published in The Journal of Perinatal Education, Vol. 33, Issue 2, Dr. James R. Lothian, Judy's husband, shares his insights on what guided her thinking and how she approached her research. Before you read the guest editorial in JPE, hear more from Jim about Judy’s career and research.
Judith Lothian was a dedicated and productive scholar. Her passions were childbirth, mothers, and babies. She published over 80 articles on these subjects in scholarly journals and books, and she wrote one highly regarded book of her own, “Giving Birth With Confidence.”
I wrote this article both as a tribute to her and to give JPE readers an appreciation for her many intellectual contributions.
Judy was a strong advocate for normal birth, birth unencumbered by needless medical intervention, and breastfeeding. Underlying her advocacy of both was her own personal experience and her keen knowledge of the scholarly literature. She knew the literature on birth and mothering extremely well, and she made it accessible to a broad swath of readers in her writing.
The other motivating factor for Judy’s scholarship was her love of the life of the mind. Judy was at home in the realm of ideas and enjoyed sharing what she found there with others.
As a professor and researcher myself, I have a special appreciation for Judy’s scholarly contributions and a good idea of the sacrifices that they entailed. As Judy’s husband, I was able to watch her close up, to talk with her about her work and share ideas with her. It was like being a builder and not only observing someone else construct a house on a day-by-day basis but also being able to discuss each day’s work with her.
One of the things that makes Judy’s intellectual contributions of particular note is the relatively late start that she got. Unlike many in academia, Judy did not begin to pursue doctoral studies until nearly two decades after she received her undergraduate degree. When she got her Ph.D. in 1989, 22 years had elapsed since she received her BSN. At the time, she and I had two children in college, a third who would start the next year, and two younger ones — one a daughter less than two years of age — at home.
Nevertheless, she hit the ground running. In the years that followed, she wrote a slew of articles for scholarly publications and the book that I mentioned earlier, which is now in its third edition. She gave a host of presentations at scholarly conferences throughout the United States and in Europe. It earned her an international reputation. It is a truly remarkable record.
I trust that the flavor of most of this — Judy’s scholarly work, the driving forces behind it, her perseverance, and my own appreciation for her contributions and dedication — comes through to the reader in this JPE article. I would hope that her example will inspire others to tread the same path.
Access the guest editorial “Judith Ann Lothian, PhD, and the Life of the Mind.”