Sarah Myers
Research staff
Lise Meitner Group 'BirthRites'
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
e-mail:
sarah_myers@[>>> Please remove the text! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Research interests
I am an evolutionary anthropologist who joined the Birth Rites group full-time in 2024, having been a guest member since 2020. I received my PhD from the University of Kent in 2017 and have since held lectureships in evolutionary anthropology at the University of Roehampton and University College London and, most recently, a postdoctoral research associate position at the University of Bristol’s Department of Anthropology and Archaeology.
My PhD research focused on bringing evolutionary insights into postnatal depression, and I received the ISEMPH George C. Williams prize for work exploring the relationship between postnatal depression and future childbearing. Subsequent postdoctoral research on infant feeding in the UK, culminated in a guest-edited edition of Phil Trans on ‘Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal-child health’. More recently, my research has harnessed social network approaches to understand how childcare support and information flows through maternal ego networks in the UK and how cultural norms regarding female genital mutilation/cutting transmit among Arsi Oromo sociocentric networks in Ethiopia.
My research in the Birth Rites group seeks to integrate human behavioural ecology and cultural evolution approaches to understand how social and cultural environments interact to influence reproductive decision making.
Education
| 2012-2017 | PhD Anthropology, University of Kent, UK |
| 2004-2005 | MPhil Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, UK |
| 2001-2004 | BA(hons) Human Sciences, University of Oxford, UK |
Grants
| 2023 | Institute of Advanced Studies Toulouse Multidisciplinary Prize, for the project Cooperative Breeding and Children as Helpers: An Interdisciplinary, Cross-Cultural Approach. Role: Co-PI. |
| 2021 | British Academy Small Research Grant, for the project Breastfeeding ideology, expectation, and reality: Gaining a real-time understanding of breastfeeding experience using an innovative mobile app. Role: Co-PI. |
| 2020 | British Academy Special Research Awards – COVID-19 scheme, for the project Raising a child without the village? Social Support and Maternal Wellbeing in the Time of COVID-19. Role: PI. |
| 2020 | UCL Strategic Initiatives Seed-funding Small Grant, for the project Raising a child without the village? Investigating the nature, role, and consequences of social support networks on maternal mental-health in the UK. Role: PI. |
| 2018 | European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association Workshop Grant, for the workshop Who cares? Introducing evolutionary approaches to caregiving and mother-infant health. Role: Co-PI. |
Publications
2023
Emmott, E. H., Gilliland, A., Lakshmi Narasimhan, A., & Myers, S. (2023). The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on postpartum mothers in London, England: An online focus group study. Journal of Public Health. |
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Page, A. E., Ruiz, M., Dyble, M., Major-Smith, D., Migliano, A. B., & Myers, S. (2023). Wealth, health and inequality in Agta foragers. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 11(1), 149-162. |
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Chambers, A., Emmott, E. H., Myers, S., & Page, A. E. (2023). Emotional and informational social support from health visitors and breastfeeding outcomes in the UK. International Breastfeeding Journal, 18: 14. |
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Du, J., Huang, Y., Bai, P.-P., Zhou, L., Myers, S., Page, A. E., & Mace, R. (2023). Post-marital residence patterns and the timing of reproduction: Evidence from a matrilineal society. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 290: 20230159, pp. 1995. |
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Gibson, M. A., Gurmu, E., Chua, R., Van Bavel, H., & Myers, S. (2023). Abandoning female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC) is an emerging but costly parental investment strategy in rural Ethiopia. Social Science & Medicine, 335: 116170. |
Open Access2021
Emmott, E., & Myers, S. (2021). OP64 Communication across maternal social networks during the UK’s national lockdown and its association with postnatal depressive symptoms. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 75(Suppl 1): A30. |
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Myers, S., Page, A. E., & Emmott, E. H. (2021). The differential role of practical and emotional support in infant feeding experience in the UK. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1827): 20200034. |
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Page, A. E., Emmott, E. H., & Myers, S. (2021). Testing the buffering hypothesis: Breastfeeding problems, cessation, and social support in the UK. American Journal of Human Biology, 34: e23621. |
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Emmott, E. H., Myers, S., & Page, A. E. (2021). Who cares for women with children? Crossing the bridge between disciplines. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1827): 20200019. |
2020
Brown, L. J., Myers, S., Page, A. E., & Emmott, E. H. (2020). Subjective environmental experiences and women’s breastfeeding journeys: A survival analysis using an online survey of UK mothers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21): 7903, pp. 7903. |
Emmott, E.H., Page, A.E., and Myers, S. (2020). Typologies of postnatal support and breastfeeding outcomes in the UK. Social Science and Medicine 246: 112791
DOI
Emmott, E.H., Page, A.E., and Myers, S. (2020). Typologies of postnatal support and breastfeeding outcomes in the UK: Response to comments by Harpur & Haddon. Social Science and Medicine 112944
DOI
2019
Page, A.E.*, Myers, S.*, Dyble, M., and Migliano, A.B. (2019). Why so many Agta boys? Explaining ‘extreme’ sex ratios in Philippine foragers. Evolutionary Human Sciences 1: e5 (*: co-first authors)
DOI
Myers, S. and Johns, S.E. (2019). Male infants and birth complications are associated with increased incidence of postnatal depression. Social Science and Medicine 220: 56-64
DOI
2018
Langsdale, S. and Myers, S. (2018). The evolution of reproductive fantasies: an interdisciplinary feminist analysis of Disney’s Tangled. Chapter 14 in Holliday, C. and Sergeant, A. (eds) Fantasy/Animation: Connections Between Media, Mediums, and Genres. London: Routledge.
Myers, S. and Johns, S.E. (2018). Postnatal depression is associated with detrimental life-long and multi-generational impacts on relationship quality. PeerJ 6: e4305
DOI
2017
Myers, S., Burger, O., and Johns, S.E. (2017). Reply to Hagen and Thornhill. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health 2017(1): 24-26
DOI
2016
Myers, S., Burger, O., and Johns, S.E. (2016). Postnatal depression and reproductive success in modern, low-fertility contexts. Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health 1: 71-84
DOI