Debra L. DeLaet is the David E. Maxwell Distinguished Professor of International Affairs at Drake University, USA. She is the author of several books, numerous articles, and book chapters on human rights, global health, and global gender issues.

Renée Ann Cramer is Professor of Law, Politics, and Society at Drake University, USA. Since 2004, she has been engaged in ethnographic and participant-observation field work with homebirth midwives, advocates for midwifery, and families who have had out-of-hospital births.