Days after giving birth to her son, Shaunquia Chitty noticed swelling in her legs. Then, a headache that wouldn’t go away, even with medicine.
The 40-year-old from the east side called her doula, a woman trained to support her through pregnancy and her advocate in the delivery room. She told Chitty to go to the emergency room.
There, doctors diagnosed Chitty with postpartum preeclampsia, a rare condition that causes high blood pressure after pregnancy.
“I was in a life-threatening situation and didn’t know,” Chitty told Mirror Indy. “Without my doula, I would’ve tried to tough it out at home.”
So when the mother of three learned about Cradle Indy — a new nonprofit working to end infant mortality in Marion County and to support moms with services like doulas — she was excited to help host a launch party.
Chitty’s event-planning company organized Cradle Indy’s first event, where about 100 people gathered July 16 at the Stutz building downtown to pledge their support. Hospital CEOs and community members walked through art installations showing the stages of pregnancy — and gaps where families struggle to get care.
In the middle of it all, Chitty said, the needs of Hoosier families can get lost.
“There are so many things moms are facing and juggling,” she told Mirror Indy. “I’m thankful for a group rallying around us and our babies.”
Signs hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room. “80% of maternal deaths in the U.S. are preventable,” one read.
That’s one statistic Cradle Indy is trying to tackle, along with Indiana’s infant mortality rate, which has historically been one of the worst in the nation. State health officials recently celebrated improving numbers — but Marion County is still home to six of the state’s worst ZIP codes where children die before their first birthday.
That includes 46218, 46219 and 46201 on the east side.
Nicole Carey, the executive director of Cradle Indy, said the organization will connect people living in these areas to resources. That includes helping families navigate the health care system, which can often be divided into different agencies and programs.
“We want to serve as a city-coordinated care system,” Carey told Mirror Indy. “You find out you’re pregnant, and we give you all the resources you need.”
That includes doula care, lactation consulting, medical care and nutrition programs.
Cradle Indy plans to partner with the Marion County Public Health Department to do home visits for pregnant mothers, Carey said. They will also help families sign up for federal assistance, including Medicaid and WIC, a supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children.
“It’s not about duplicating services,” Carey said. “It’s connecting people with the ones they need.”
The model comes from Cincinnati, where a Cradle program reduced infant mortality rates by more than 30% in one county, the Health Policy Institute of Ohio reported.
Here in Marion County, Carey said, many babies are born pre-term or with low birth weight. One reason is because mothers do not receive prenatal care in the first trimester. Other issues include housing, food access and mental health.
“High infant mortality means we don’t have healthy communities,” said Carey, who is also a member of the IPS school board.
Tamara Winfrey-Harris, president of the Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, delivers a speech during the Cradle Indy event “ONE: A Night to Win the Fight Against Infant Mortality.” Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
Shelonda Wright, a doula on the east side, poses for a photo during the Cradle Indy event. Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
Nicole Carey, executive director of Cradle Indy, delivers a speech during the event. Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
Farah Celestin Chery, who runs an organization that trains doulas, poses for a photo during the Cradle Indy event. Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
Danielle Anderson gives remarks July 16 during the Cradle Indy event “ONE: A Night to Win the Fight Against Infant Mortality.” Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
Ebony Funches looks at a display talking about the stages of pregnancy. Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
Chris Carey looks at a display talking about maternal mortality and postpartum risks. Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
State Sen. Andrea Hunley, D-Indianapolis, speaks with a fellow attendee. Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
Dave Boyle (left) and Sherri Bucher talk with a fellow attendee. Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
Attendees converse July 16, 2025, during the Cradle Indy event “ONE: A Night to Win the Fight Against Infant Mortality.” Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy 
A neon sign for an event by Cradle Indy titled “ONE: A Night to Win the Fight Against Infant Mortality”, July 16, 2025, at VisionLoft Stutz in Indianapolis. Credit: Nate Pappas for Mirror Indy
Maternal and infant health ‘should not be partisan’
During the Cradle Indy event, speakers emphasized that this work is not political.
“Caring for moms and babies should not be partisan,” said state Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat from Indianapolis.
She pointed out several bills that failed to pass this legislative session, including funding for a still-birth prevention program. Doulas are also still fighting to be paid well. Indiana passed a law in 2019 that allows doulas to be reimbursed under Medicaid for their services, but Hunley said the state has not allocated any funding for the legislation.
Her remarks came several weeks after Gov. Mike Braun, a Republican, attended a maternal health symposium in Indianapolis. He signed a state budget that contained a 70% cut to public health funding, which had supported initiatives addressing maternal and infant health.
During a fireside chat at the event, Braun said the cuts were in response to Indiana’s $2 billion budget deficit and lawmakers will look at the funding, known as Health First Indiana, again next year.
“I think we’ve got to make a greater investment in it,” the governor said.
In an interview with Mirror Indy after the event, Braun stopped short of promising to restore all of the funding.
Remembering Dr. Chaniece Wallace
Shelonda Wright, a doula on the east side, thought about this political reality while attending the Cradle Indy launch. She is also dreading the prospect of federal cuts to Medicaid, which pays for about 41% of Indiana’s births.
“How dare you celebrate the state lowering infant mortality and then turn around and cut the funding that supports moms,” Wright, 48, told Mirror Indy. “Mothers and babies are going to start dying at alarming rates.”
Other speakers at the event asked attendees to remember the stories of women whose lives were already cut short.
“I think of our own doctor, Chaniece Wallace,” IU Health President and CEO Dennis Murphy told the crowd. “She was somebody who had the most access to health care. She was our chief resident. And even she needed help and didn’t have the outcomes that she should have.”
Wallace died from complications after giving birth to her daughter in 2020. Her story renewed conversations about the disparities Black women face in maternal care.
Chitty, the mom from the east side who recently gave birth, had the same condition as Wallace: preeclampsia.
At the hospital, Chitty said her doctor made sure to keep her longer for observation.
“The doctor said she lost her colleague that way,” Chitty said. “She didn’t want to send me home.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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