There are a number of processes at play within the child welfare and healthcare systems that have the potential to be othering and stigmatizing for people (Pollack, 2010; Snowden, 2003; van Ryn, 2003). These stigmatizing practices are compounded and made all the more complex when the child welfare and healthcare systems operate simultaneously in people’s lives. Despite this, there appears to be limited research about the interplay between the child welfare and healthcare systems in producing stigma, in spite of how closely and recurrently these structures interact and work with one another.
This study investigates the interaction of stigmatizing processes and practices at play between Brant Family and Children’s Services and the Brantford General Hospital. Specifically, it explores, from the viewpoint of child welfare staff, the experiences of new mothers receiving perinatal care at this hospital, who are also clients of Brant Family and Children’s Services.
This study employs a critical social work framework, coupled with elements of intersectionality and a social justice lens. An eclectic methodological approach was used, integrating tenets of critical and interpretive social science research, and a narrative approach.
Four semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with child protection staff employed at Brant Family and Children’s Services, with six major themes identified, including: the exclusion of mothers within the hospital setting, issues with Brant FACS’ birth alert documentation, and the paradoxical ways in which stigma can operate in the lives of new mothers receiving care at this hospital. These themes are explored and future directions and recommendations are discussed. Suggestions are also made in terms of how these organizations can begin to address the practices at play between both systems that unfortunately, appear to harmfully impact on mothers who are involved with Brant Family and Children’s Services, and receiving perinatal care at the Brantford General Hospital. / Thesis / Master of Social Work (MSW)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/21957 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Berrouard, Meredith |
| Contributors | La Rose, Tara, Social Work |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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