Anita started at Hope College in 2010 as a practicum instructor for Obstetrics Nursing. In 2015, she was teaching Nursing Skills, Family Nursing and Nursing Internship. She returned to Hope in 2017 after completing her Ph.D. She is currently teaching nursing leadership courses such as:

• Management and Transitions
• Internship
• Research Practicum

AREAS OF Expertise

Anita's clinical area of expertise is obstetrics and neonatal nursing. Her dissertation research is titled “Donor Human Milk: Maternal Experiences and Impact on Preterm Feeding Outcomes.” Her interest in this topic started after donating her extra human milk to a milk bank. During her dissertation she had the opportunity to interview mothers of preterm infants and analyze feeding outcome data before and after the implementation of a donor human milk feeding program. She is interested in researching the reasons behind why mothers are unable to meet their infant's nutritional needs and why they choose alternative feeding options (donor milk, formula, etc.).

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., nursing science, Rush University, 2017
• M.S., nursing education, University of Phoenix, 2007
• BSN, nursing science, Calvin College, 1999

Current Research:MOTHER’S MILK FOR MICHIGAN INFANTS: EXPLORING THE PERSONAL, SOCIAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS OF MATERNAL MILK SUPPLY

Principal Investigators:

• Dr. Emilie Dykstra Goris
• Dr. Anita Esquerra-Zwiers

密歇根婴儿母乳研究小组(MMMI)是霍普学院的一组护士研究人员，他们有兴趣了解更多关于是什么影响了母亲为婴儿制造足够的母乳的能力。世界杯荷兰vs厄瓜多尔走地先前的研究表明，选择母乳喂养婴儿受到支持系统、母乳喂养知识和母乳喂养愿望的影响。研究人员正在进一步了解女性的身体和医疗状况如何影响母乳喂养的时间。MMMI招募了100位居住在西密歇根、怀孕30-40周、计划母乳喂养一名婴儿、年龄在21岁以上的母亲参加该项目。我们目前正在收集最后一点数据，并分析牛奶和唾液样本。感谢所有自愿参与这项研究的母亲们。

Awards

• Anonymous Foundation Support, “Perceived Insufficient Milk Supply: Biological markers,” Co-Primary Investigator, 2018
• International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation – Family Larsson Rosenquist Foundation Trainee Expansion Program, “Human Milk Biomarkers for Perceived Insufficient Milk Supply,” Primary Investigator, 2018
• Medela Nursing Scholar Award, Medela, Inc., 2016
• National Association of Hispanic Nurses – Michigan Chapter Student Scholarship, 2015

Published Work

• “Donor Human Milk Update: Evidence, Mechanisms and Priorities for Research and Practice.,” with P. Meier and A. Patel,The Journal of Pediatrics, 180, 2016
• “‘It’s Somebody Else’s Milk’: Mothers' Providing Consent for Donor Human Milk Feedings in Their Very Low Birth Weight Infants,” with B.Rossman, P. Meier, J. Engstrom, J. Janes and A. Patel,Journal of Human Lactation, 32(1), 2016

View additional publications at ResearchGate.

Outside the College

Anita is very passionate about missions (local and global) and diversity and inclusion. Her family is extremely important to her and a majority of her free time is spent with her family. If she had more time in her life, she would cook, bake, read, sew and run more.