Midwifery care for Australian Aboriginal women

Abstract

Australian Aboriginal women have twice the number of still born babies as Australian non Aboriginal women and have babies who are five times more likely to die within the neonatal period. The perinatal mortality rate is three times higher and the infant mortality is more than five times the overall rate for babies of Australian Aboriginal women compared to Australian non Aboriginal women. These are the stark statistics compiled by the Midwives' Notification System in Western Australia (1998).

This paper discusses East Kimberley Aboriginal women and their life cycle. When compared with women of Western culture the life cycle of Aboriginal women is uniquely different. The lives of traditional Aboriginal people are encompassed by cultural values and beliefs which determine, govern and affect who they are, where they belong and how they view the world. As an Aboriginal woman, who is conducting the antenatal/postnatal program in her the provision of culturally appropriate health care is based on these principles and values. Since the author's inception of this program, evidence suggests that the incidence of Aboriginal women's representation and first time attendance has increased.