Library and Academic Services: Indigenous Health & Well-Being: Motherhood &amp; Pregnancy

Indigenous Motherhood & Pregnancy - Introduction

Motherhood and Pregnancy

"The integration of realistic itapisinown, or Indigenous worldviews, into midwifery and reproductive care services ensures they are grounded in the diverse socio-cultural contexts and beliefs, values, skills, and knowledge of First Nations, Indian, Indigenous, Inuit, and Métis individuals and communities." - Toronto Birth Centre

“What We Teach Our Children” (2008)
Painting by Christi Belcourt

Symbolism: bees (uncertain future), plants (hope and renewal), partridge and rabbit (importance of Elders), roots (ancestry), swirls and dots in the sky (spiritual world), and televisions (reminder "to be diligent about who and what is teaching our children").

Image: https://torontobirthcentre.ca/about-the-tbc/christi-belcourt/

Websites and Documents

"Canada’s evacuation policy for pregnant First Nations women: Resignation, resilience, and resistance"
by Karen M. Lawford, Audrey R. Giles, and Ivy L. Bourgeault.
Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives, 2018-12, Vol.31 (6), p.479-488
Canada’s Forced Birth Travel: Towards Feminist Indigenous Reproductive Mobilities
Indigenous feminist and decolonial theoretical approaches are used to outline one way in which Indigenous women counter settler colonialism to assert sovereignty over their birth experiences – through the resurgence of culturally-based doulas or birth workers.
Traditional First Nations Birthing Practices: Interviews With Elders in Northwestern Ontario
Traditionally, First Nations maternity care was provided by community-based midwives trained through apprenticeship. Obstetrical practices and beliefs were integrated to provide holistic care. The Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre has a mandate to be a centre of excellence for Aboriginal health care. We undertook a literature review and performed a qualitative in maternity care.
Traditional Indigenous Kinship Practices at Home: Being Child-Centered During the Pandemic
Blog post from Indigenous Motherhood (personal wordpress site of Andrea Landry).
In our traditional kinship systems, children were the at the center of the family system. Everything we did was with, and for, the children...
What is an Indigenous Midwife? (NCIM webpage)
Webpage by National Council of Indigenous Midwives (NCIM), formerly National Aboriginal Council of Midwives (NACM).
Check out related resources available on the 'Publications' page, located under 'Resources' in the website's main menu.
Stories and Teachings about Birth (2017, NCIM report)
Labour and birth is a time of huge emotions and feelings. This is because they are sacred and have transformative energies. Ceremonies can play an important role during this time, which can be calming and centering
Stories and Teachings about Infant Care (NCIM 2017 report).
“A newborn is very powerful, the greatest of all teachers. They can sense things that are not the norm, and let you know. And they continue to teach us as they grow. For example, they will crawl, stand, fall down and get up again. You don’t just get up once and walk forever, you will fall, and you will have to get up again and again.” – Elder Mary Lee
Chapter 21: Infant feeding teachings from Indigenous Grandmothers
Northern Indigenous Health and Healthcare (Open Educational Resource from University of Saskatchewan)
"Infant feeding teachings from Indigenous Grandmothers: Generating knowledge through sharing circles" by Pertice Moffitt; Sabrina-Ayesha Lakhani; and Sheila Cruz (2018. ISBN: 9780888806277)

Resources at the Library

Indigenous Experiences of Pregnancy and Birth by Jaime Cidro; Hannah Tait Neufeld
Location: Ebook
Publication Date: 2017
Traditional midwifery, culture, customs, understandings, and meanings surrounding pregnancy and birth are grounded in distinct epistemologies and worldviews that have sustained Indigenous women and their families since time immemorial. Years of colonization, however, have impacted the degree to which women have choice in the place and ways they carry and deliver their babies.
Life Stages and Native Women by Kim Anderson; foreword by Maria Campbell
Location: Ebook
Publication Date: 2011
A rare and inspiring guide to the health and well-being of Aboriginal women and their communities.The process of "digging up medicines" - of rediscovering the stories of the past - serves as a powerful healing force in the decolonization and recovery of Aboriginal communities. Kim Anderson shares the teachings of fourteen elders from the Canadian prairies and Ontario to illustrate how different life stages were experienced by Metis, Cree, and Anishinaabe girls and women during the mid-twentieth century. These elders relate stories about their own lives, the experiences of girls and women of their childhood communities, and customs related to pregnancy, birth, post-natal care, infant and child care, puberty rites, gender and age-specific work roles, the distinct roles of post-menopausal women, and women's roles in managing death.

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