Abstract
Background
The Australian maternity system must enhance its capacity to meet the needs of Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) mothers and babies, however evidence regarding
what is important to women is limited.
Aims
The aim of this study was to explore what women having a First Nations baby rate as
important for their maternity care as well as what life stressors they may be experiencing.
Methods
Women having a First Nations baby who booked for care at one of three urban Victorian
maternity services were invited to complete a questionnaire.
Results
343 women from 76 different language groups across Australia. Almost one third of
women reported high levels of psychological distress, mental illness and/or were dealing
with serious illness or death of relatives or friends. Almost one quarter reported
three or more coinciding life stressors. Factors rated as most important were privacy
and confidentiality (98 %), feeling that staff were trustworthy (97 %), unrestricted
access to support people during pregnancy appointments, (87 %) birth (66 %) and postnatally
(75 %), midwife home visits (78 %), female carers (66 %), culturally appropriate artwork,
brochures (68 %) and access to Elders (65 %).
Conclusions
This study provides important information about what matters to women who are having
a First Nations baby in Victoria, Australia, bringing to the forefront social and
cultural complexities experienced by many women that need to be considered in programme
planning. It is paramount that maternity services partner with First Nations communities
to implement culturally secure programmes that respond to the needs of local communities.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 05, 2022
Accepted:
June 6,
2022
Received in revised form:
May 10,
2022
Received:
February 7,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
