Young Aboriginal women's voices on pregnancy care: Factors encouraging antenatal engagement

Promoting women's health in remote Aboriginal settings: Midwifery students' insights for practice

“…This important contribution of older women has been recognised in other studies. 7,18 Our findings suggest that a short duration placement enabled students to understand local contexts, cultural protocols, community needs and barriers to care not previously encountered in prior practice experiences. Reluctance to access services was understood in the context of remoteness and cultural sensitivities around women's health.…”

The WA Goldfields Aboriginal Community Antenatal Program—A community midwifery initiative

“…The ability of the community midwives and Aboriginal maternal support workers to understand these complexities appeared to contribute to program strengths. Culture remains a strong element of Aboriginal antenatal and birthing practice both nationally and internationally (Reibel & Morrison, 2014;Kildea & Van Wagner, 2012) which is acknowledged within ACAP and supported from findings in similar models of care in New Zealand and Canada (Kildea & van Wagner, 2012) Combined expertise, local knowledge and cultural brokerage attributes of ACAP midwives and Aboriginal maternal support workers and partner agencies have the potential to develop a relevant model of community antenatal and pre-conception care in the Goldfields region which is supported nationally and internationally (James et al, 2010;McHugh & Hornbuckle, 2011). Lack of a common shared model of antenatal care and ability of agencies to share up to date client records impacts on interagency collaboration.…”

“…In countries with similar health systems to Australia, particularly in New Zealand and Canada, community midwifery enables a primary health care approach, responsive to local needs especially working with clients with health inequalities and social exclusion (Maternity Aboriginal antenatal health and birthing influences are linked to a range of issues such as cultural safety, social determinants, feelings of shame and choice of health provider (Wilson, 2009 (Reibel & Morrison, 2014). Aboriginal women recognise a holistic approach to health with a focus on physical, spiritual, cultural, emotional and social well-being that requires health professionals to consider these aspects when developing and delivering models of care (Zubrick et al, 2004;Reibel & Morrison, 2014).…”

“…In Western Australia, young and senior Aboriginal women have identified priorities for preconception sexual health education and health promotion, with recommendations being for maternity and community health services to work in partnership with Aboriginal elders, education providers and other related organisations utilising culturally relevant strategies to develop appropriate school and community sexual and reproductive activities (Reibel & Morrison, 2014). Respectful and reflexive approaches are needed to adapt service delivery to protect clients' values and engagement with meaningful health care practices.…”

“…This offers guidance to address health inequalities and assists in identifying and sustaining changes needed for positive lifestyle changes (McHugh & Hornbuckle, 2011). Aboriginal women have identified choices and preferences as being key features in relation to antenatal care; relationships of respect and trust between young pregnant Aboriginal women and antenatal care providers; knowledge of local communities and cultural practices by antenatal care providers and information enabling pregnant women to be well informed, particularly in regards to their bodies, substance abuse, self-care and care for the developing baby (Wilson, 2009;Reibel & Morrison, 2014). A range of personal, social, cultural and system issues impact on women's attendance at antenatal clinics and health promotion sessions.…”