Inngide Osirus was born in Haiti and raised in Florida. She studied microbiology at the University of Miami along with a handful of minors including public health, psychology, and Africana studies. Her collection of interests led her to pursue a masters of public health at the University of Pittsburgh. There, she met Dzigbordi Kamasa-Quashie from Atlanta, Georgia. Dzigbordi attended Georgia State University and studied biology.
Dzigbordi first heard about the Pittsburgh Schweitzer Fellows Program and approached her friend with the suggestion that they enter the program together.
Dzigbordi and Inngide’s project is called “Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby.” Inngide explains that the infant mortality rate for black Pittsburghers is three times the national average. Their project aims to address this discouraging statistic by filling in the missing piece of prenatal care for first time black mothers: social support. By pairing first time mothers with seasoned mothers, Inngide and Dzigbordi hope to build relationships that will benefit both parties. They will also host monthly information sessions for the new mothers about vaccines, nutrition, exercise, and more.
Inngide and Dzigbordi will partner with Healthy Start, a national organization. The Pittsburgh office of Healthy Start, based in Homewood, provides assistance to new mothers in many areas of pre and perinatal care by increasing access to health insurance, conducting father sessions, and ensuring women go to their postpartum doctor’s appointments.
Inngide and Dzigbordi hope to find participants in their first or second trimesters so that they may guide the women throughout their pregnancies. They are acutely aware of the many barriers that may prevent women from attending the program, particularly childcare for their mentoring mothers. Healthy Start offers childcare at their facility for a fee; Inngide and Dzigbordi hope to cover the costs for their mentors. They also want to pay for transportation and meals for the new and mentoring mothers and give their new mothers a baby shower to celebrate their growing families.
Inngide and Dzigbordi are mentored by Dr. Dara Mendez from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health. Dr. Mendez, an assistant professor of epidemiology, referred the pair to Healthy Start and inspired them to address infant mortality.
Dzigbordi and Inngide are aware that many of the impacts of their project will not be seen within a year. They will depend on positive feedback from the mothers involved to know if they were successful. They hope that, should the project be a success, future Schweitzer fellows will continue their work.
