Dr Nicole Miriam Daniels
Research Interests
- Maternal and newborn health
- Qualitative research methods
- Childbirth
Biography
Nicole Miriam Daniels, BSocSci (Hons), MSocSci, PhD (UCT) is a sociologist whose doctoral research, “Obstetric Risk Worlds: A Multi-site, Feminist Ethnography of Private-Sector Obstetric, Maternal and Unborn Caring Concerns in Cape Town,” examines the dynamics of obstetric care in South Africa’s private health sector.
Nicole currently works as a Programme Doula at Alignd, a value-based healthcare company delivering palliative care, maternity, and chronic kidney disease programmes to medical scheme members across South Africa. She is also a qualified Time to Think thinking partner, coach, and facilitator, creating environments that enhance the quality of independent thinking and decision-making.
As an Honorary Research Associate with the Adolescents Accelerators Research Hub, Nicole continues to publish in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and edited collections, and presents at selected conferences and workshops. She welcomes opportunities for postgraduate supervision. She was awarded the Best Paper Prize for Early Career Researchers by the journal Health, Risk & Society.
Nicole has extensive teaching experience, having served for two and a half years as a full-time Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cape Town. During this time, she contributed to interdisciplinary working groups on families and reproduction, presented at departmental seminars, and represented UCT at the New Academics’ Transitions into Higher Education Regional Colloquium.
Recent Publications
- Obstetric demise or resilience? The moral panic surrounding obstetric malpractice litigation in South Africa and the vilification of midwife-led births. Midwifery, 2026. https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0266-6138(26)00129-4
- Towards a care continuum: A socio-material analysis of intra-acting public-private maternity care in South Africa. Social Science & Medicine, 2026. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953626000730