Inuit Women Demand Culturally Safe Births in Nunavut

Inuit women in Nunavut are advocating for essential improvements in maternal healthcare, particularly concerning childbirth within their communities. Currently, Nunavut lacks any birthing centres offering midwifery services, forcing many women to travel outside their home regions for care. This often results in brief consultations and a disconnect from familiar cultural practices during a critical time.

The Arviat Cultural Safety Project is actively addressing this issue by gathering over 100 childbirth experiences from women in Arviat. This initiative aims to identify specific changes needed to enhance birthing and midwifery services across Nunavut, prioritizing cultural relevance and patient well-being.

Inspired by the "gold standard" Inuulitsivik midwifery model in Nunavik, Quebec, the project emphasizes the value of Inuit-led approaches. This model champions apprenticeship and hands-on learning, reflecting traditional Inuit methods of knowledge transfer, which contrasts with the formal diploma requirements often seen in southern healthcare systems.

Concerns also focus on the sustainability and cultural safety of a "revolving door" system where non-Inuit healthcare providers frequently rotate in and out of the North. This practice hinders the development of crucial, long-term patient-provider relationships and fails to strengthen local healthcare workforce capacity.

The government of Nunavut confirmed that its midwifery program at Nunavut Arctic College ceased in 2014. However, the Department of Health is collaborating with the University of Manitoba's Ongomiizwin Indigenous institute of health and healing to establish an Inuit-led midwifery education pathway, though a start date has not been announced.

As part of the project, women's birthing stories have been transformed into colourful wall hangings displayed in Edmonton, preserving and sharing these important narratives. A recent multi-generational Inuit midwifery conference in Winnipeg further fostered inspiration and a commitment to advancing these critical maternal health initiatives.