inal antenatal care providers. There also needs to be more support for the large number of women and their families who need to travel for care.
Our paper ‘When I Got the News’ explored the experiences of Kimberley Aboriginal men during ANC, including their perceptions of being an expecting father, their social and emotional wellbeing, and their experience with health providers. The 10 Aboriginal men shared that fatherhood starts when their partner becomes pregnant and that their sense of responsibility increased as they sought to help their partner emotionally, practically and financially. The men talked about modifying their own behaviours in preparation for fatherhood, through a reduction in alcohol and less socialising. Several men self-reflected on their own absent fathers in their childhood and shared that this inspired them to be a more involved present father in their children’s lives. Aboriginal men support having a healthy pregnancy and being part of their partner’s pregnancy is important to them. The men talked about the importance for health services to include Aboriginal fathers, the need for programs and resources that will help Aboriginal men with knowledge and tools to better understand and support their partners to have a safe and healthy pregnancy.
Kimberley H. Seear, Erica P. Spry, Emma Carlin, David N. Atkinson, Julia V. Marley. Aboriginal women’s experiences of strengths and challenges of antenatal care in the Kimberley: A qualitative study. Women and Birth. 2021; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2020.12.009
Emma Carlin, Zaccariah Cox, Erica Spry, Conor Monahan, Julia V. Marley, David Atkinson. “When I got the news”: Aboriginal fathers in the Kimberley region yarning about their experience of the antenatal period. Health promotion journal of Australia. 2020: https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.375
‘Nini Women’s: antenatal care experiences’ – plain language report (168 KB)
‘When I Got the News’ – peer reviewed publication (375 KB)
‘When I Got the News’ – plain language report for community (132 KB)
‘When I Got the News’ – plain language report for staff (132 KB)
- Professor David Atkinson, RCSWA
- A/Professor Julia Marley, RCSWA
- Dr Stephanie Trust, Kununurra Medical
- Dr Catherine Engelke, RCSWA
- Kristy Newett, WACHS-Kimberley
- Pat McCready, KAMS
- Jo Forbes, KAMS
- Emma Griffiths, RCSWA
- Zaccariah Cox, KAMS
- Erica Spry, RCSWA
- Emma Carlin, RCSWA
- Cath Josif, RCSWA
- Melissa Williams, WACHS-Kimberley
- Janet de San Miguel, KAMS
- Dr Stephanie Sherrard, PMH
- Prof Karen Edmond, UWA
- Natalie Strobel, UWA
- Rhonda Marriott, Murdoch Uni