Self-determination in programmes of perinatal health for Aboriginal Communities: A systematic review.

• Published in: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
• Main Authors: Beadman, Kim Ann, Sherwood, Juanita, Gray, Paul, McAloon, John
• Format: Review
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science 2024
• Subjects: Aboriginal; First Nations; Indigenous Australian; Torres Strait Islander; perinatal
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anzjph.2024.100169; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39068135

The importance of self-determination in restoring the wellbeing of Australian First Nations peoples is becoming understood. For thousands of years, Aboriginal women gave birth on Country and Grandmothers' Lore and Women's Business facilitated the survival of the oldest living civilisations on earth. Following colonisation, however, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practices of maternal and perinatal care were actively dismantled, and self-determination by Aboriginal people was destroyed. This had significant implications for the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their Cultures and practices.