A community-based antenatal program designed to provide access to culturally appropriate care for pregnant Indigenous women in southern metropolitan Perth has shown encouraging signs of improving outcomes for both mothers and babies, according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
The Aboriginal Maternity Group Practice Program (AMGPP) employed Aboriginal grandmothers, Aboriginal Health Officers, and midwives to provide care in partnership with existing antenatal services.
Dr Christina Bertilone, and Dr Suzanne McEvoy, both public health physicians at the South Metropolitan Population Health Unit in Perth, reported that data from women who attended the AMGPP between July 2011 and December 2012 showed improved outcomes when compared with two control groups of pregnant Indigenous women.
"Babies born to AMGPP participants were significantly less likely to be born preterm, ... to require resuscitation at birth ... or to have a hospital stay of more than 5 days", the authors wrote.
"Before the AMGPP was introduced, local Aboriginal community members were concerned that some women were presenting late in pregnancy or giving birth at King Edward Maternity Hospital [a public tertiary maternity hospital], irrespective of their risk status.
"The AMGPP aimed to improve timely access to existing antenatal and maternity services in south metropolitan Perth, and to thereby increase the number of women giving birth safely in a local hospital.
"The program model was culturally secure, with a focus on early access to antenatal care, employment of Aboriginal staff, and holistic care, including awareness of the social determinants of health."
The AMGPP could be adapted to similar settings "with the support of local Aboriginal communities", leading to improved outcomes for mothers and babies, the authors concluded.
"Given the association between preterm birth and infant mortality [particularly in Aboriginal women], as well as the impacts of prematurity on chronic disease throughout life, programs providing access to culturally secure antenatal care for Aboriginal women may have long-term benefits for their children", they wrote.
"The AMGPP enhanced existing maternal health services and enabled more Aboriginal women to give birth locally and safely."