Health Care Professionals Who Serve American Indian and Alaska Native People Who Are Pregnant or Postpartum

Health Care Professionals

As a health care professional, you play a critical role in eliminating preventable maternal mortality. One part of the solution is to really hear women's concerns during and after pregnancy. For people to feel comfortable sharing their concerns, they need to trust you.

Many American Indian and Alaska Native women find it hard to trust health care professionals. They may have experienced challenges getting the care they need, including experiences of racism and discrimination in health care settings. The history of forced sterilization and infant separation policies has also made it hard for these women to trust health care professionals and the government.

What Can You Do?

• Take time to make your patients feel understood and respected during their visit with you.
• Practice culturally appropriate care. This includes respecting cultural practices that you may not be familiar with but that are important to your patient. Learn more about how to provide culturally appropriate care in your facility to make sure your patients' needs are met.
• Acknowledge and address any biases or stereotypes that may affect the quality of care you provide.

Culturally Appropriate Care

Understanding and respecting the unique needs and cultural practices of each patient is an important part of building trust and providing medical care.

American Indian and Alaska Native people have diverse cultural practices that vary across tribes. These practices can include different languages, foods, ceremonies, values, spiritual beliefs, stories, songs, traditional plants, and birthing practices. Many Native people draw strength from traditional practices, places, and ways of living. Take the time to understand if there are cultural practices that are important to the patient you're serving.

In many health care relationships, the health care professional and patient come from different cultural backgrounds. Understanding and accepting these differences is important for providing culturally appropriate care.

Culturally appropriate care can include acknowledging the use of traditional medicine that is based on indigenous knowledge. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People affirms the right of indigenous people to use traditional medicines and follow traditional health practices. Take the time to understand the practices that are important to the patient you are serving.

Addressing Biases in Care

The tragic reality is that American Indian and Alaska Native women are two times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than White women. A growing body of research documents the role that structural racism and implicit (or unconscious) bias plays in generating health disparities across a spectrum of outcomes.

Health care professionals must acknowledge and address their own biases or stereotypes that may affect the quality of care they provide. Learn more from Combating Implicit Bias and Stereotypes (hhs.gov)

Be conscious of how the effects of structural racism and personal biases may affect your patient's care and health outcomes. Ensure that every patient is provided respectful, patient-centered care. Participate in training opportunities, such as those listed below to help you meet this goal.

Clinical Resources and Training

SAMSHA Culture Card

Maternal Health Care – Think Cultural Health

How to Better Understand Different Social Identities

Combating Implicit Bias and Stereotypes