Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi

Board Vice President. Nursing Professor. PhD(c). Black Maternal Health Advocate. Innovative Thinker. Everything Equity. Everything Coconut. #CIHRDoctoralScholar

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

It is official 🎉. I am a PhD Candidate! Still taking this one in as it feels especially special.

I started my PhD three weeks postpartum at @queensu, with a newborn in my arms and absolutely no idea what it would take to balance motherhood, life, and doctoral studies. It wasn’t easy, but here we are. That tiny baby is now two years old, surrounded by powerful women he has come to know as his “PhD aunties”.

I successfully defended my PhD thesis proposal, and I am so excited for what comes next. To my family, thank you for carrying me and making room for this dream. To my supervisor, Dr. @KTerna , thank you for giving me the space to grow into my own voice as a scholar. Your mentorship throughout this journey has meant more to me than I can say. To my wonderful committee, Dr. @pilar_camargo and Dr. @dmacdonald902 , and my examiners, Dr. Katherine McKittrick and Dr. Katie Goldie, thank you for challenging my thinking with support and guidance. I am blessed with the most supportive classmates who created time out of their busy schedules to listen to me rehearse and checked in to encourage me.

Now comes the part I have been most excited about: the research itself. I get to listen to and learn from Black women as I explore their experiences and meaning-making of miscarriage in Canada. Being a survivor of miscarriage and stillbirth, I feel so privileged to carry this work forward. What a beautiful milestone! From three weeks postpartum to PhD Candidate 🎉🙏🏿

#BlackMaternalHealthMatters

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

@OurFavOnlineDoc Oh no!

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

@Harryslaststand So glad you’re here, John 💜

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

Dear Black people, tell your friends to tell their friends.

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

@rutherfor_marie Right

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

I was told to educate myself about municipal government. So let’s talk about it. Yes, hospitals are primarily a provincial responsibility. But health care doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Ontario municipalities have roles in public health, paramedic services, long-term care, housing and homelessness services, among other areas that directly affect health.

Municipalities also work with the province and contribute to funding and delivering some health and social services. So yes, municipal elections have health care implications. I’m not saying your mayor controls Ontario hospitals. I’m saying local government decisions affect the conditions in which people live, get sick, receive care and recover.

October 26. Go vote.

#onpoli

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

https://t.co/lbfCHZmLNr

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

https://t.co/jgNeLK0jYt

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

Make it make sense - 24 Registered Nurses (RNs) laid off from one unit at an Ontario hospital, with patients having to be relocated. The entire unit was shut down. We keep talking about nursing shortages, yet nurses are being laid off. Ontario continues to have the lowest RN to population ratio in all of Canada, yet nurses continue to be cut. What is going on?

October 26th is election day. Please vote. Your vote matters because not only is health care political, everything is.

#onpoli

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

https://t.co/idn1rlTKa2

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

In the middle of a demanding shift, this nurse took the time to wash, brush and style her patient’s hair. It may seem small, but it wasn’t. It was dignity. It was compassion. It was making a patient feel human.

It’s the little things.

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

https://t.co/Vv6R41c16A

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

I don’t know who needs to hear this - I can speak about racism and still have White friends. Both can be true. I speak about racism because it exists, because I’ve experienced it, and because I believe silence won’t change it. I’m also grateful for the White friends and allies who listen, learn, speak up and stand with me.

Calling out racism is not hating White people. It’s calling for better.

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

@wilton_pamela I agree

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

New nurses shouldn’t have to medicate their way through work. If nurses are experiencing so much anxiety that medication becomes necessary just to get through their shifts, we need to look beyond the individual. Is it the nurse who needs fixing, or the working conditions? Unsafe workloads, inadequate staffing and chronic stress cannot become the normal price of being a nurse.

We need action. I hope you’re voting this season!

#onpoli

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

@Celiadumas4 Thanks so much for sharing. I hope you’re getting the help you deserve!

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

I FINALLY FOUND MY SISTER! 🥹
When someone speaks about anti-racism in nursing and you’re like… YES! THIS! Thank you for using your voice. We need more people willing to speak up.

https://t.co/4DmVfJc5DL

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

@susanwat Yes

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

@SarahEigen1980 It is

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

https://t.co/SbrmATrfqN

[Birgit Umaigba-Omoruyi @birgitomo]

@TundeTASH So inspiring! Congratulations bro 🎉