Funding outcome

Many small communities in Northern Canada do not have hospitals where people can give birth. Because of this, pregnant people often have to travel to larger places, such as Yellowknife, to have their babies. This stressful experience is common for many Indigenous people. Between 2021 and 2022, the Yellowknife hospital stopped delivering babies because there were not enough staff. During this time, pregnant people from northern Canada had to travel even farther, all the way to Edmonton, to give birth. Doctors in Edmonton noticed that these patients often had different health concerns during pregnancy compared to people who lived in Edmonton. While Alberta keeps clear records about pregnancy health, this kind of information is not regularly collected in northern Canada. This makes it hard to know how common pregnancy health problems are for people living in the north. In this study, we will look at information from people who gave birth in Edmonton between 2021 and 2022. We will compare how often pregnancy health problems happened in people from northern Canada with people from Edmonton. We will share what we learn with people from northern Canada and get their opinion about what information matters most. This research can help healthcare workers better understand the needs of pregnant people from northern Canada and improve support for families who must travel far from home to give birth.