Melissa Saftner, PhD, APRN, CNM, FACNM

Dr. Saftner is the director of the Nurse Midwifery Program at the School of Nursing. She is a member of the ACNM DGE Education Committee, ACNM Committee of Midwife Advocates for Certified Midwives and is active in the Minnesota Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives. Dr. Saftner’s research focus is on adolescent health issues, particularly global adolescent health, and physiologic birth. She is peer reviewer for multiple professional journals and a site visitor for the Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education.

• Adolescent Sexual Risk Behavior
• Confidence for physiologic birth
• Global health, marginalized populations and health disparities
• Health promotion in adolescent populations
• Research Methods/Techniques
• Grounded Theory Qualitative
• Methods Mixed Methods

Academic Interests and Focus

• Nurse-midwifery
• Nursing Research
• Health disparity prevention

Teaching Areas

• Midwifery
• Reproductive health care
• Quality improvement

Dr. Saftner's clinical experience includes being a Certified Nurse-Midwife at University of Minnesota OBGYN and Essentia Health OB/GYN. 

Clinical Interests: Adolescent Health, Outpatient Care, Midwifery Model of Care

Clinical Experience Statement:
I have worked for over a decade caring for individuals and their families. It is an honor to work with patients as they transition through various life stages.

• Kitty Ernst Award, American College of Nurse-Midwives, 2019
• Fellow, American College of Nurse-Midwives, 2018
• Excellence in Teaching Award, American College of Nurse-Midwives, 2017
• Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award, University of Minnesota School of Nursing, 2016
• Exceptional Mentorship, The Daisy Foundation Daisy Award, 2015
• MNRS Adolescent Health Research Section Dissertation Award, 2012

• Sigma Theta Tau International
• Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
• Association for Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses
• Transcultural Nursing Society
• American College of Nurse Midwives

Brown, C., Neerland, C.E., Weinfurter, E.V. & Saftner, M.A. (2023), The provision of abortion care via telehealth in the United States: A rapid review. Journal of Midwifery Womens Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmwh.13586

Miller, K. K., Saftner, M. A., McNamara, M., McMorris, B., & Olupot-Olupot, P. (2022). Provision of adolescent health care in resource-limited settings: Perceptions, practices and training needs of Ugandan health care workers. Children and Youth Services Review, 132, 106310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2021.106310

Saftner, M. A., Pruitt, K. S., & McRee, A. L. (2021). Conversation, condoms, and contraception: How does communication with sexual partners affect safer sexual behaviors among American Indian youth? Journal of School Nursing, 37(2), 109-116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840519849097

Arbour, M. W., Gordon, I. K., Saftner, M., & Tanner, T. (2020). The experience of sleep deprivation for midwives practicing in the United States. Midwifery, 89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2020.102782

Saftner, M., Thompson, M., Ngabirano, T. D., & McMorris, B. J. (2020). Adaptation of the event history calendar for Ugandan adolescents. Global Health Promotion, 27(3), 159-170. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757975919878179

Ngabirano, T. D., Saftner, M. A., & McMorris, B. J. (2022). Exploring health behaviors in Ugandan adolescents living in rural rishing communities. The Journal of School Nursing, 38(2), 148-160. doi:10.1177/1059840520947142

Neerland, C. E., Avery, M. D., Looman, W. S., Saftner, M. A., Rockwood, T. H., & Gurvich, O. V. (2020). Development and testing of the preparation for labor and birth instrument. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing, 49(2), 200-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.12.006

Neerland, C. E., Avery, M. D., Saftner, M. A., & Gurvich, O. V. (2020). Corrigendum to 'Maternal Confidence for physiologic birth: Associated prenatal characteristics and outcomes' [Midwifery 77 (2019) 110-116]. Midwifery, 80, 102557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2019.102557

Neerland, C. E., Avery, M. D., Saftner, M., & Gurvich, O. V. (2019). Maternal confidence for physiologic birth: Associated prenatal characteristics and outcomes. Midwifery, 77, 110-116.

Ngabirano, T. D., Saftner, M. A., McRee, A., & McMorris, B. J. (2020). Considerations for conducting global health research with adolescents in rural communities. Journal of Global Health Reports, 4, 2020093. https://doi.org/10.29392/001c.17605

Award: Midwest Integration of the National HIV Curriculum (MINH
Principal Investigator: Rybicki, Sarah Louise
Sponsoring Organization: University of Illinois Chicago
Award Dates: 2019 - 2022

Award: Midwest Integration of the National HIV Curriculum (MINH
Principal Investigator: Rybicki, Sarah Louise
Sponsoring Organization: University of Illinois Chicago
Award Dates: 2019 - 2022

Award: Exploring Risk behaviors in Uganda Adolescents living in
Principal Investigator: Saftner, Melissa Ann
Sponsoring Organization: Sigma Theta Tau International
Award Dates: 2017 - 2018

Award: Exploring Adolescent Risk in Ugandan Fishing Communities
Principal Investigator: Saftner, Melissa Ann
Sponsoring Organization: Sigma Theta Tau International
Award Dates: 2017 - 2018