Grant: Project Grant

In Nunavik, Inuit women with medically high-risk pregnancies are sent to Montreal for childbirth. Childbirth evacuation may affect maternal-infant health through maternal mental health pathways. The study will 1) explore whether and how childbirth evacuation affects prenatal stress and antepartum depression; 2) examine the associations among antepartum depression, postpartum depression, and infant growth/development; 3) validate the EPDS-Inuktitut, a cross-culturally adapted questionnaire that screens for perinatal depression; and 4) implement a knowledge transfer plan with community members and organizations to raise awareness of perinatal depression, promote healthy pregnancies, and increase support for childbirth evacuees and their families. In this mixed method, longitudinal observational study. Eligible women will be enrolled in the study upon their arrival in Montreal and will be followed through childbirth and up to 12 months postpartum in Nunavik. Our target sample size is 334 women over 5 years. Using a participatory framework, a Steering Committee consisting of representatives of key Inuit health and social service organizations, an Inuk Elder, and an Inuk spiritual leader is involved in all stages of the study. Community engagement activities include annual community open houses in four Nunavik villages and quarterly meetings of a women's advisory group (Inuit midwife trainees and mothers). The researchers are experts in maternal-infant health, maternal-fetal medicine, Inuit health services, and Indigenous mental health. Expected products include a validated perinatal depression screening tool specifically for Inuit; Elder-led videos and community radio programming on traditional Inuit childbirth practices and healthy pregnancy; annual community open houses in Nunavik; journal articles; conference presentations; infographics; and a report for community organizations and government agencies.