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Abigail Jorgensen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Sociology and Anthropology

Education

  • Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Notre Dame
  • M.A. in Sociology, University of Notre Dame
  • B.A. in Political Science and Gender Studies, University of Notre Dame

Publications and Media Placements

Jorgensen, Abigail, and Charlotte Gregg (undergraduate student coauthor). “Race and Perinatal Complications: What The Unexpected misses about social determinants of health.” Forthcoming at Journal of Perinatal Education.

Jorgensen, Abigail. 2025. “Drawing out Relationships: How to Analyze Participant-Produced Drawings for Studies of Relationships.” International Review of Sociology 0(0):1–27.

Jorgensen, Abigail. 2024. A Catholic Guide to Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss: Compassionate answers to difficult questions. Ave Maria Press.

  • Winner of the Association of Catholic Publishers 2024 Excellence in Publishing Award: General Interest Category
  • Winner of the Saint Louis University College of Arts and Sciences 2025 Excellence in Research for a General Audience Award

Williams, Richard, and Abigail Jorgensen. 2023. “Comparing Logit & Probit Coefficients Between Nested Models.” Social Science Research.

Trudeau, Libby, and Abigail Jorgensen (equal authorship). 2022. “Saying ‘I Do’ to Feminism: How U.S. Christian women manage religious and feminist identities in their weddings.” Religion & Gender.

  • Jeanine Becker Award for Graduate Student Papers winner, 2020, University of Notre Dame.

Jorgensen, Abigail, and Richard Williams. 2020. “Goodness of Fit Measures.” In P. A. Atkinson, A. Cernat, S. Delamont, J. W. Sakshaug, R. A. Williams (Eds.), SAGE Research Methods Foundations.

Media

Authored articles:

“Living in Hope: the ministry of a bereavement doula”, Church Life Journal, February 2025. 

“What my child learns from how we treat one another at mass”, America Magazine, June 2024. 

“St. Gianna Beretta Molla: a saint for our times”, Church Life Journal, March 2024. 

“The Struggles of Parenting Identities”, International Doula (feature article). Volume 31 – Issue 2. 2023.

“For the Living”, Notre Dame Magazine. August 21, 2023. 

“Dancing with My Daughter”, Notre Dame Magazine, Summer 2022. 

“We Need to Talk about Racism in Healthcare for Pregnant Mothers”, FemCatholic. February 25, 2022. 

“Exploring Mary’s Birth Story: What the debate about Jesus’ delivery can teach us”, The Young Catholic Woman. November 16, 2021. 

“How to Support a Friend Going through Pregnancy Loss”, FemCatholic. October 12, 2021. 

“How to Support Moms After the COVID Baby Bust”, FemCatholic. August 24, 2021. 

“Patron Saints for Pregnant Women”, FemCatholic. November 12, 2020. 

“Rituals Sacrificed”, Notre Dame Magazine. August 25, 2020. 

For more public-facing articles, see abbythesociologistdoula.com.

Featured in:

At Home with Jim & Joy, “Dr. Abigail Jorgensen Ep. 1” and “Dr. Abigail Jorgensen Ep. 2”, January 8 and january 9, 2025.  

What Catholic School Didn’t Teach You, “Dr. Abigail Jorgensen: A Catholic Guide to Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss”, October 17, 2024

St. Gabriel Catholic Radio, “Inspired By Faith: Abigail Jorgensen”, June 29, 2024

America Magazine, “What Every Family Grieving a Miscarriage or Stillbirth Deserves from the Church”, May 6, 2024

Letters to Women, “A Letter to the Mother Grieving Her Baby Who Died,” April 9, 2024 

Doula Well Podcast, “Bereavement with Dr. Abigail Jorgensen,” February 20, 2024

Forgiveness is for You, “Navigating Perinatal Loss with Dr. Abby Jorgensen,” July 30, 2024 

Echoes of Impact, “Walking with Grief: A Conversation with Bereavement Doula Dr. Abby Jorgensen”, October 31, 2024 

“Catholic support for parents experiencing miscarriage or infant loss”, by Patti Armstrong, National Catholic Register. October 13, 2024. 

“What every family grieving a miscarriage or stillbirth deserves from the church”, by Colleen Jurkiewicz, America Magazine. May 6, 2024. 

“Navigating miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss with Abigail Jorgenson [sic]”, interview on Busted Halo. April 23, 2024. 

“What is a bereavement doula?”, interview with EWTN. October 15, 2023. 

 

Honors and Awards

  • G. Margaret Porter Graduate Writing Prize (2022)
  • Jeanine Becker Award for Graduate Student Papers 2020)
  • G. Margaret Porter Graduate Writing Prize (2019)
  • Phillip L. Quinn Essay Prize (2016)