Grant: Project Grant

Pregnancy is a natural physical occurrence, not a disease. However, pregnancy is shaped by social, physical, cultural, political, economic, and historic influences and their effects. These affect a woman's body, mind, and spirit, collectively described as their maternal wellbeing. Ideally, all women would experience positive maternal well-being - a sense of optimal physical, psychological, and spiritual strength. Ongoing representation of pregnancy outcomes by metrics of death and illness, rather than well-being has led to interventions focused mainly on medical interventions or health system improvements, rather than addressing factors that influence the well-being of women pre-, during, and post-pregnancy. The majority of poor maternal outcomes stem from marginalisation in some form. Indigenous women around the world typically face poorer pregnancy outcomes than non-Indigenous counterparts, despite (or perhaps because) many Indigenous Peoples view the mind and spirit as important as the body. Arguably, well-being has not been given meaningful attention. To assess Indigenous maternal well-being, it is important to first understand what it means to women themselves and the people (including men and health professionals) that support them. This understanding will be used to develop and test an assessment tool (maternal well-being measure; MWM) that captures appropriate factors to describe Indigenous maternal well-being. With a focus on four different Indigenous groups in Canada and East Africa, the goal of this initiative is to enhance maternal well-being through development of a flexible, adaptable approach to knowing and understanding strengths and vulnerabilities of women as they prepare for and birth babies. Through measurement comes understanding and awareness towards developing more sustainable, appropriate community, societal, health, and policy interventions for Indigenous women.