‘Staggering disparity’: Study finds Indigenous people travel farther to give birth
Being in health care, I first-hand see the staff shortages, lack of resources and burnt out front line health care workers that is plaguing our current health care system. While I work in an urban facility, these challenges still occur. What I have started to realize, however, is the waning in resources that have affected our rural communities, including our Indigenous peoples. In this study, linked here (https://www.cmaj.ca/content/193/25/E948), Indigenous people living in rural Canada are 16 times more likely to travel long distances than non-Indigenous women.
A comment from the author struck me in particular: “Smylie said that for First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, giving birth close to home is a very important tradition because the land is considered a part of their family.”
When these women do have to travel the long distance to give birth, they are often having to give birth alone, perhaps at a place where they don’t speak the language, and where health care providers don’t often understand the culture.
This is definitely a gap that needs to be filled; whether it’s providing the primary care resources for these women at their communities (midwives, community workers, health care planners), or through education at all facilities (including urban facilities) about how to support culturally safe care.