Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Manitoba has one of the highest rates of child removal by child protective services in the world. Among the 10,000 children currently in out-of-home placement, an estimated 33% of children were removed within the first year of life, of which more than half were removed at birth, the overwhelming majority of whom are First Nations and Metis. Whereas out-of-home placement is a widely recognized factor influencing children's health and development, little research has focused on the effects of placement during infancy on the later health of children and virtually no research has extended examination to the health of their mothers. As strategies to prevent separation of mothers and infants, particularly newborns, are an increasingly urgent priority for Indigenous leaders, better understanding of the role of placement in infancy is vital both to provide a fuller picture of its impacts and to identify optimal leverage points for reducing inequities in family wellbeing. To address this knowledge gap, I will draw on innovative methods to analyze longitudinal, linked administrative data for the entire Manitoba population of mothers and their offspring. I will investigate whether placement in infancy differentially impacts the health of First Nations, Metis and non-Indigenous mothers and children compared to those who experience placement later in childhood or who remain together. This study is expected to uncover whether and how inequities in health are characterized in the lives of mothers and children who are separated in early life, and to inform equity-based and Indigenous-led interventions to preserve maternal-infant bonds, address unique health challenges of this population, and shorten time to reunification. Translation of findings will occur in collaboration with an advisory team of Indigenous organizations to ensure their relevance in advancing initiatives that benefit well-being of Indigenous families and promote greater health equity in the population at large.