Improving Aboriginal Maternal Health by Strengthening Connection to Culture, Family and Community.

(1) Background: To explore the function of smoking in Aboriginal women's lives from a trauma-informed, women-centred approach in order to inform the design of a culturally meaningful smoking cessation program for women living in the Pilbara, Western Australia; (2) Methods: Qualitative and Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) was used to discover what Aboriginal women know about smoking, the specific contextual issues that influence their smoking, and what community supports are available to help them quit smoking. Inductive analysis was used to determine key themes; (3) Results: 25 Aboriginal women (smokers, non-smokers, and ex-smokers) participated in focus groups or individual interviews. Women smoked to deal with stress, trauma and for maintaining social connections.

A Novel Approach to Transforming Smoking Cessation Practice for Pregnant Aboriginal Women and Girls Living in the Pilbara.

Tobacco smoking during pregnancy contributes to a range of adverse perinatal outcomes; but is a potentially modifiable behavior. In Australia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women face a range of barriers that hinder; rather than support smoking cessation. Few smoking cessation programs consider the broader social determinants of women's lives; the gendered nature of these or the complexities which impinge on behavior change in the presence of social and economic disadvantage and substantial individual and intergenerational trauma.

From Consultation to Application: Practical Solutions for Improving Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes for Adolescent Aboriginal Mothers at a Local Level.

Adolescent pregnancy has been typically linked to a range of adverse outcomes for mother and child. In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have a higher proportion of adolescent births compared with other adolescent Australian women, and are at greater risk of poorer psychosocial and clinical outcomes if they are not well supported during pregnancy and beyond. Drawing on existing literature and consultations with young Aboriginal women and health professionals supporting pregnant Aboriginal women in Western Australia, this paper discusses the importance of creating models of antenatal care using a "social determinants of health" framework.