Much of the maternal health care literature on Aboriginal women is biomedical in its focus, covering topics such as gestational diabetes, abnormal birth weight, and infant morality. There has also been some exploration of First Nations womens relationships with health professionals. There is a dearth of literature that addresses First Nations womens choices, experiences, knowledges (traditional and medical), attitudes, beliefs and values surrounding their pregnancies and prenatal health care. This qualitative study conducted by a Mikmaw woman explores Mikmaw womens perceptions of their maternal health, the relationships that support or serve Mikmaw women during their pregnancy, birthing, and postpartum delivery in two First Nations communities in Nova Scotia. The stories of fourteen Mikmaw female participants, ranging from young women to Elders, were explored using a narrative inquiry approach that is consistent with First Nations oral traditions of storytelling. Stories were told in a focus group and individual interviews. Data collection, analysis, and interpretation was guided by an Indigenous framework of two superimposed medicine wheels: (1) holistic model of health (mental, physical, emotional and spiritual), and; (2) maternal health life cycle (becoming a woman, teachings during pregnancy, experiences during birth, motherhood and the fourth trimester: after birthing). This study found that the colonization of birthing has significantly impacted Mikmaw maternal health experiences, and is characterized by a tension between western medical knowledge and Mikmaq traditional knowledge systems that plays out very strongly during this critical period in the life of a woman and her child. In addition, recognition of the socio-cultural context of Mikmaq women is critical to understanding their decision making in regards to maternal health. The results suggest there is a need to create culturally sensitive models of maternal health that incorporate First Nations traditional knowledge of maternity and Western medical knowledge.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:SSU.etd-03162011-131931 |
| Date | 18 March 2011 |
| Creators | Battiste, Mariah |
| Contributors | Tait, Caroline, Smylie, Janet, Abonyi, Sylvia |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-03162011-131931/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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