Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Maternity care for Aboriginal women in Canada is in crisis in many regions. Many Aboriginal women experience poor access to high quality, culturally safe medical care in pregnancy and indicators of maternal-child health demonstrate significant inequities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples. Centralization of care and reduction in community level services has had a significant impact on Aboriginal women, particularly those in remote regions. This access issue has created a de facto policy of referral for delivery (evacuation) where women must be removed from their communities for labour and birth. This practice has had devastating effects on women, their families and the larger community. The practice of referral for delivery also has significant psychosocial and economic effects on women and families. There is growing evidence that community level care represents best practice for Aboriginal women. Through this project, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) will work with community partners in the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) to develop and implement a multi-level program for supporting pregnant women both in, and outside of, their communities. The specific objectives of the initiative are to create an understanding of the experiences of pregnant women; to develop priorities for maternity care and support; to design and implement a program of support that is based on community priorities, traditions, values, practices, and resources; and to create a best-practice model of community care for supporting Aboriginal women's maternity (including pre-conception and antenatal) care based on traditional teachings around birth, parenting, and families.