Restoring the Blessings of the Morning Star: Childbirth and Maternal-Infant Health for First Nations near Edmonton, Alberta
It is not only remote Aboriginal communities in Canada that have poorer maternal-infant health status than Canadian averages; residents of First Nation communities located close to large urban centres also experience this health status gap. Alexander, Alexis, Enoch, and Paul First Nations are locate...
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta
2015
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Online Access: | http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/view/23823 https://doi.org/10.5663/aps.v5i1.23823 |
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ftunivalbertaojs:oai:ejournals.library.ualberta.ca:article/23823 2023-05-15T16:15:49+02:00 Restoring the Blessings of the Morning Star: Childbirth and Maternal-Infant Health for First Nations near Edmonton, Alberta Wiebe, Adrienne Dawn Barton, Sylvia Auger, Laura Pijl-Zieber, Em Foster-Boucher, Caroline Alberta Centre for Child, Family & Community Research 2015-10-29 application/pdf http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/view/23823 https://doi.org/10.5663/aps.v5i1.23823 eng eng Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/view/23823/pdf_41 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/downloadSuppFile/23823/4165 aboriginal policy studies; Vol 5, No 1 (2015): ABORIGINAL POLICY STUDIES 1923-3299 Native Studies Health Aboriginal Health maternal-infant health info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2015 ftunivalbertaojs https://doi.org/10.5663/aps.v5i1.23823 2016-05-08T20:38:53Z It is not only remote Aboriginal communities in Canada that have poorer maternal-infant health status than Canadian averages; residents of First Nation communities located close to large urban centres also experience this health status gap. Alexander, Alexis, Enoch, and Paul First Nations are located within an hour of healthcare services in greater Edmonton. The narratives of 75 predominantly Cree and Stoney women from these communities were gathered through seven talking circles and five semi-structured interviews. The participants described their experiences of loss and separation as pregnancy care and childbirth moved out of the community and into the hospital over the last two generations. This shift was not only a geographic relocation; it also disconnected the childbirth experience from elders, family and community, traditional teachings, and spiritual meaning. Conversely, the participants’ hospital experiences were characterized by a limited sense of cultural safety. Participants highlighted the urgent need to reintegrate culturally based community support and health perspectives into the childbirth experience. The implementation of such a culturally integrated healthcare model in all Aboriginal communities—remote, rural, suburban, and urban—may be the key finally to closing the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal maternal and infant health status in Canada. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations University of Alberta: Journal Hosting Canada aboriginal policy studies 5 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Alberta: Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivalbertaojs |
language |
English |
topic |
Native Studies Health Aboriginal Health maternal-infant health |
spellingShingle |
Native Studies Health Aboriginal Health maternal-infant health Wiebe, Adrienne Dawn Barton, Sylvia Auger, Laura Pijl-Zieber, Em Foster-Boucher, Caroline Restoring the Blessings of the Morning Star: Childbirth and Maternal-Infant Health for First Nations near Edmonton, Alberta |
topic_facet |
Native Studies Health Aboriginal Health maternal-infant health |
description |
It is not only remote Aboriginal communities in Canada that have poorer maternal-infant health status than Canadian averages; residents of First Nation communities located close to large urban centres also experience this health status gap. Alexander, Alexis, Enoch, and Paul First Nations are located within an hour of healthcare services in greater Edmonton. The narratives of 75 predominantly Cree and Stoney women from these communities were gathered through seven talking circles and five semi-structured interviews. The participants described their experiences of loss and separation as pregnancy care and childbirth moved out of the community and into the hospital over the last two generations. This shift was not only a geographic relocation; it also disconnected the childbirth experience from elders, family and community, traditional teachings, and spiritual meaning. Conversely, the participants’ hospital experiences were characterized by a limited sense of cultural safety. Participants highlighted the urgent need to reintegrate culturally based community support and health perspectives into the childbirth experience. The implementation of such a culturally integrated healthcare model in all Aboriginal communities—remote, rural, suburban, and urban—may be the key finally to closing the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal maternal and infant health status in Canada. |
author2 |
Alberta Centre for Child, Family & Community Research |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wiebe, Adrienne Dawn Barton, Sylvia Auger, Laura Pijl-Zieber, Em Foster-Boucher, Caroline |
author_facet |
Wiebe, Adrienne Dawn Barton, Sylvia Auger, Laura Pijl-Zieber, Em Foster-Boucher, Caroline |
author_sort |
Wiebe, Adrienne Dawn |
title |
Restoring the Blessings of the Morning Star: Childbirth and Maternal-Infant Health for First Nations near Edmonton, Alberta |
title_short |
Restoring the Blessings of the Morning Star: Childbirth and Maternal-Infant Health for First Nations near Edmonton, Alberta |
title_full |
Restoring the Blessings of the Morning Star: Childbirth and Maternal-Infant Health for First Nations near Edmonton, Alberta |
title_fullStr |
Restoring the Blessings of the Morning Star: Childbirth and Maternal-Infant Health for First Nations near Edmonton, Alberta |
title_full_unstemmed |
Restoring the Blessings of the Morning Star: Childbirth and Maternal-Infant Health for First Nations near Edmonton, Alberta |
title_sort |
restoring the blessings of the morning star: childbirth and maternal-infant health for first nations near edmonton, alberta |
publisher |
Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/view/23823 https://doi.org/10.5663/aps.v5i1.23823 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
aboriginal policy studies; Vol 5, No 1 (2015): ABORIGINAL POLICY STUDIES 1923-3299 |
op_relation |
http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/view/23823/pdf_41 http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/aps/article/downloadSuppFile/23823/4165 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5663/aps.v5i1.23823 |
container_title |
aboriginal policy studies |
container_volume |
5 |
container_issue |
1 |
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1766001678790688768 |