Carolyn Sufrin, MD, PhD
Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
About Carolyn Sufrin
Primary Academic Title
Associate Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics
Background
Carolyn Sufrin, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and of health, behavior, and society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As an obstetrician and gynecologist, her areas of clinical expertise include family planning, general obstetrics and gynecologic care.
Dr. Sufrin earned an undergraduate degree in anthropology at Amherst College, followed by a medical degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed residency training at Magee-Womens Hospital of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as well as a fellowship in family planning at the University of California, San Francisco. While at the University of California, she also earned a doctorate in medical anthropology.
Before joining the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2014, Dr. Sufrin served as assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.
Dr. Sufrin’s research focuses on reproductive health care for incarcerated women. While in San Francisco, she started a women’s health clinic at the San Francisco County Jail, which continues to provide gynecologic and obstetric care. Based on her ethnographic research with workers and pregnant women at the jail, she wrote and published Jailcare: Finding the Safety Net for Women Behind Bars.
She is director of the Advocacy and Research on Reproductive Wellness in Incarcerated People program, which conducts NIH- and foundation-funded research on issues such as pregnancy outcomes in prisons and jails, medication-assisted treatment for pregnant people in jails and contraception access in carceral settings.
Dr. Sufrin serves on the board of the National Commission on Correctional Health Care. She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and of the Society of Family Planning.
Recent News Articles and Media Coverage
- Pregnant Behind Bars: What We Do And Don't Know About Pregnancy And Incarceration, NPR (03/2019)
- Breakthrough Study Offers New Stats On Abortion And Birth In Prison, HuffPost (03/2019)
- Criminal Justice reform must include pregnant women, The Hill (03/2019)
- Federal Legislation Seeks Ban On Shackling Of Pregnant Inmates, NPR (12/2018)
- 'I didn't get arrested, I got rescued': jail is a lifeline for some pregnant women, The Guardian (08/2018)
- What We Do to Women Behind Bars': A Q&A With 'Jailcare' Author Dr. Carolyn Sufrin, Rewire.News (06/2017)
- Helping Women and Girls in Prison, The New York Times (12/2015)
- Woman says NYPD officers forced her to give birth while shackled to a bed, Fox News (December 7)
Research Interests
Incarcerated women and reproductive health care, medical anthropology, racism in health care, reproductive justice
Lab Website
Research on Reproductive Health Care for Incarcerated People - Lab Website
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The Advocacy and Research on Reproductive Wellness of Incarcerated People (ARRWIP) group was founded in 2017 by Dr. Carolyn Sufrin of Johns Hopkins Complex Family Planning Services. The goal of our research is to create opportunities to improve reproductive wellbeing for people affected by the criminal legal system - including making full-scope, compassionate reproductive health care accessible for people experiencing incarceration and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.
Selected Publications
Goshin LS, Sissoko DRG, Neumann G, Sufrin C, Byrnes L. Perinatal Nurses' Experiences With and Knowledge of the Care of Incarcerated Women During Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2019 Jan;48(1):27-36.
Peeler M, Fiscella K, Terplan M, Sufrin C. Best Practices for Pregnant Incarcerated Women With Opioid Use Disorder. J Correct Health Care. 2019 Jan;25(1):4-14.
Sufrin C, Baird S, Clarke J, Feldman E. Family planning services for incarcerated women: models for filling an unmet need. Int J Prison Health. 2017 Mar 13;13(1):10-18.
Sufrin C, Beal L, Clarke J, Jones R, Mosher WD. Pregnancy Outcomes in US Prisons, 2016-2017. Am J Public Health. 2019 May;109(5):799-805.
Sufrin C. Making mothers in jail: carceral reproduction of normative motherhood. Reprod Biomed Soc Online. 2018 Nov 13;7:55-65.
Honors
- Edison T. Uno Chancellor Award for Public Service, University of California, San Francisco
- Eileen Basker Memorial Prize Honorable Mention, Society for Medical Anthropology, 1/1/18
- Outstanding Researcher Award, North American Forum on Family Planning, 1/1/17
- Outstanding Research Award, Researcher in Training, Reproductive Health 2010 Annual Meeting, 1/1/10
- Outstanding Faculty Award in Resident Teaching, UCSF, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, 1/1/08
Memberships
- American Anthropological Association
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Fellow
- Society for Family Planning, Fellow
Locations
- Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
- 4940 Eastern Avenue, A Building, Level 1 (M) North, Baltimore, MD 21224
- phone: 410-550-9840
- fax: 410-550-1794
Expertise
Education
University of California San Francisco School of Medicine
Graduate School, PhD, 2014University of California San Francisco School of Medicine
Fellowship, 2010University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Residency, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2007Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Medical Education, MD, 2003Board Certifications
Obstetrics and Gynecology
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2010Insurance
- Aetna
- CareFirst
- Cigna
- First Health
- Geisinger Health Plan
- HealthSmart/Accel
- Humana
- Johns Hopkins Health Plans
- MultiPlan
- Pennsylvania's Preferred Health Networks (PPHN)
- Point Comfort Underwriters
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- UnitedHealthcare
- Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (Optum-VACCN)