Improving Aboriginal Women's Experiences of Antenatal Care: Findings from the Aboriginal Families Study in South Australia

Abstract

In the urban, regional, and remote areas where the Aboriginal Family Birthing Program has been implemented, the program has expanded access to culturally responsive antenatal care for Aboriginal women and families. The positive experiences reported by many women using the program have the potential to translate into improved outcomes for Aboriginal families.

‘Partnerships are crucial’: an evaluation of the Aboriginal Family Birthing Program in South Australia

“…Despite these challenges, a population‐based study of 344 Aboriginal women giving birth in SA between July 2011 and June 2013 shows that women who attended the AFBP services were much more likely to report positive experiences of antenatal care than women attending mainstream public maternity services 14 . Our findings echo these results, demonstrating that Aboriginal women highly value care provided by other Aboriginal women.…”

Stillbirths: recall to action in high-income countries

“…Innovative community programmes addressing refugee maternal and child health inequalities 68 and antenatal care programmes associated with partnerships between midwives and Aboriginal health workers are underway in Australia. 69,70 Universally, women whose first language differs from the dominant national languages should be offered care and information in their own language, 71 with a choice of the gender of the interpreter. 68 The US Affordable Care Act 72 will provide services such as free contraception, screening for infections, and programmes for alcohol and smoking cessation.…”

Improving Access to Antenatal Care for Aboriginal Women in South Australia: Evidence from a Population‐Based Study

“…Six women (2%) did not receive any antenatal care and are not included in further analyses. Further details about participant characteristics are available in a previous paper .…”

“…The study—called the Aboriginal Families Study—was designed to compare the experiences of women attending standard (or mainstream) care with those of women attending Aboriginal Family Birthing Program services in urban and regional South Australia. In a previous paper, we reported women's views and experiences of different models of antenatal care showing that women attending the Aboriginal Family Birthing Program services were more likely to report positive experiences of care . The primary aims of this paper are as follows: 1) to assess the extent to which mothers of Aboriginal babies accessed timely antenatal care (defined as attending at least one antenatal visit before 14 weeks' gestation), and attended five or more antenatal visits over the course of pregnancy (i.e., the minimum standard for the number of antenatal visits as defined in the COAG targets); and 2) to investigate factors associated with early and ongoing engagement with antenatal care, including the model of care.…”