I really wanted to be sure I had support, and I knew that was what midwives provided.
explains the young woman of 28 years.
Ms. Barton, who is Wolastoqey from Saint Mary’s First Nation in Fredericton, used two midwives, one was Mi’kmaw from Millbrook First Nation, and the other was non-Aboriginal. Ms. Barton says they were both excellent, but it was comforting to have an Aboriginal midwife.
They are able to connect with you on a different level, and guide you through every step of the job.
adds Ms. Barton.
Her first child was born in the hospital, the second at home. The midwives provided her with a birthing pool, taught her different birthing positions, and gave her advice on breastfeeding. They were also available by phone at all times and during six weeks of postpartum care.
Ms Barton, who works as a nurse, notes that her experience has been so positive that she wants to learn midwifery skills herself. I think every community should have access to midwifery care
she mentions.
Help keep babies in their community
Ellen Blais, Director of Aboriginal Midwifery for the Association of Ontario Midwives, is originally from the Oneida Nation of the Thames, but she was not raised there. She lived through the Sixties Scoop, when Indigenous children were taken from their homes and placed in non-Indigenous foster or adoptive families, and sees Indigenous midwives as an important step in keep babies in their community.
” Children have been taken from the arms of our wives since residential schools [pour Autochtones] and I really feel that midwives can help in this area. »
Ellen Blais is the Director of Aboriginal Midwifery at the Association of Ontario Midwives.
Photo: Courtesy/Ellen Blais
She spent nearly 25 years in the field of indigenous health, and although she spent most of her career in the administrative field, she helped deliver 200 children as a midwife. On Wednesday, she will receive the first Layton Indigenous Leadership Award in Toronto, for her work in promoting the profession of Aboriginal midwifery.
She sees Indigenous midwives as ensuring that Indigenous mothers receive appropriate prenatal care, and have access to their nation’s birthing ceremonies, helping to revitalize Indigenous birthing practices.
” They can eat their own food, use their own medications and benefit from the excellent clinical care provided by midwives. »
She recalls that there are 57 Aboriginal midwives in Ontario and that there are about 150 across Canada, she estimates. Ms. Blais hopes that this number will increase.
We are in the community and we recover the spaces so that mothers can have the births they want
she concludes.
Based on a text by Oscar Baker III, from CBC Indigenous
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca