You are now in the main content area

Change that matters

FCS graduates advance movement to bring midwifery back to Indigenous communities
By: Sharon Aschaiek
January 18, 2018
From left: Ellen Blais and Evelyn George

Photo: From left: Ellen Blais, Midwifery Education Program ’07 and Evelyn George, Midwifery Education Program ’09. Photo credit: Mark Blinch. 

Evelyn George and Ellen Blais are among those leading the growing movement to advance midwifery in Indigenous communities to strengthen maternal and infant care and support new families.

George and Blais have co-chaired the National Aboriginal Council of Midwives, which promotes better reproductive health care for Inuit, First Nations and Métis women. The once strong tradition of midwifery among Indigenous Peoples in Canada was diminished due to colonization and the medicalization of childbirth.

Today, Indigenous women often deliver babies in other regions, away from their families. George says this separation and loss of tradition contribute to higher rates of depression, suicide and children in foster care.

“It has created various social ills and mental, spiritual and emotional problems,” George says. “We try to restore the practice of Indigenous midwifery to keep families intact during and after pregnancy.”

The council directly supports Indigenous communities wanting to reclaim and restore midwifery. It has created a guidebook for students, mentors new practitioners and holds professional-development gatherings. It also lobbies federal government ministers and policy-makers to support culturally safe Indigenous reproductive health care. Last year, it published a discussion paper on the status of Indigenous midwifery and how the government can advance their work.

Says Blais: “Bringing midwives back to Indigenous communities so families can experience birth together not only creates happiness and joy, it’s foundational to holding communities together.”

This is one of a series of stories about Indigenous research and curriculum at Ryerson as the community prepares to receive “Truth and Reconciliation: What Does it Mean for Ryerson University? on January 26.

This story first appeared in the Faculty of Community Services Magazine, Imprints.

To learn more about Aboriginal news at Ryerson, please visit https://www.torontomu.ca/aboriginal-news/.

More News