Katie T. Kivlighan, PhD, CNM is an assistant professor and certified nurse midwife at The University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Nursing. Her research interests focus on the role of both synthetic and endogenous oxytocin in the onset of lactation and early milk yield. Kivlighan’s doctoral and postdoctoral work focused on hormone-behavior relationships during pregnancy and early childhood and the implications for fetus, infant, and the mother-child relationship. Since 2014, Kivlighan has practiced as a certified nurse midwife with the University Midwifery Associates in the UNM Department of OB/GYN, working with both rural and underserved populations. She teaches antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care in the Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) Nurse Midwifery Concentration. She is also a co-coordinator of the UNM Hospital Volunteer Birth Companion Program, a birth-justice program that aims to provide respectful, compassionate, and non-judgmental care to birthing people who may not otherwise be able to access continuous birth support. Kivlighan earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Biobehavioral Health from The Pennsylvania State University and completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She earned a Post-Master’s Certificate in Nurse Midwifery from UNM, a Master’s of Science in the Clinical Nurse Leader Program at the University of Maryland Baltimore, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Biology from the College of the Holy Cross.