Current position:
Maternal Mortality & Morbidity Epidemiologist,
Philadelphia Department of Public Health,
Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health
Sarah Weinbrom, MPH, graduated from Drexel's Dornsife School of Public Health in 2023 with a major in Epidemiology and a minor in Maternal and Child Health.
Sarah’s interest in maternal and child health (MCH) stemmed from MCH coursework as an undergraduate and while studying abroad in India. The topics discussed in these courses always captured her attention. From a scientific angle, she explains that she finds pregnancy and child development fascinating, and from a social angle, she finds the opportunities that the perinatal period offers to positively impact a person’s health motivating. She is inspired by how healthy, positive experiences during pregnancy and the postpartum period can have lasting impacts on the health and wellbeing of birthing people and their babies for many years to come.
During her MPH program at Dornsife, Sarah served as the Vice President of the Maternal and Child Health Student Organization and as the Events Coordinator for the Peer Health Educators. She was highly active in both groups and in the Drexel MCH Program as a whole. She completed both her APE and ILE with the Division of Maternal, Child, and Family Health (MCFH) at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) as an Epidemiology Intern. She was a recipient of the MCH Program’s Workforce Development Award, which funded her APE project focusing on screening for intimate partner violence among birthing people in Philadelphia. Additionally, she supported the work of MCH core faculty member, Dr. Irene Headen, as a GIS Intern. Sarah also was supported by the MCH Program to attend the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) Annual Meeting as an MCH trainee.
What is your current role? How are you using your current MCH training?
I am the Maternal Mortality & Morbidity Epidemiologist at MCFH. I applied for this role after interning with MCFH while working on my MPH and completing my APE and ILE there. It was wonderful to get to transition into a full-time position with this incredible team.
I continue to stay engaged with the MCH Program at Drexel by serving as one of the MCFH representatives in a cross-city MCH Collaborative housed at Dornsife.
In my day-to-day work, I use many of the epidemiology skills that I gained in my major coursework as well as the contextual knowledge that I gained as an MCH trainee. I'm able to tackle complex analytical questions with appropriate techniques and a deep understanding of current and historical issues in the maternal health landscape.
Recently, I contributed to a report about severe maternal morbidity (SMM) among birthing people in Philadelphia. I used my biostatistical training to clean and analyze the data, my MCH training to contextualize the findings within current MCH conversations, and my public health communication training to present the information in an accessible way.
How did your time at Dornsife influence your career?
My time as an MCH trainee introduced me to the network of people and organizations doing MCH work in Philadelphia. Not only did I meet and connect with the people who would become my boss and coworkers, but also many other people working across the city whom I now consider part of my professional network.
In addition to that, I formed bonds with the other students who were my MCH trainee peers and now we get to support each other through our new and growing careers!
Any highlights from getting your MPH at Dornsife?
Completing my ILE with MCFH was one of my favorite parts of my time at Dornsife. I worked with my Dornsife academic advisor as well as two preceptors from MCFH, so I had lots of great mentorship guiding me through the project.
I was also able to use an MCFH dataset specific to Philadelphia birthing people (Philly PRAMS), so my project was very focused on local MCH experiences. After completing my degree and beginning my current job, I was able to update this project and submit it as an abstract to the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) where it was accepted to present at the annual CSTE conference.
What advice would you give to current and future MCH trainees?
My advice is to seek out diverse experiences during your time at school. There are so many different ways to work in MCH, so try as many as you can and decide what you like and what you dislike about them. These experiences might include your APE and ILE projects, internships, volunteer experiences, or even just informational interviews with people doing work you think you might be interested in. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, and don’t be afraid to decide that something isn’t a good fit for you.