Paper short abstract:

Critical examination of state opposition to the return of midwifery services in one community reveals how both people and their home environments are constructed as high risk and its implications for birthplace for Indigenous families in Manitoba, Canada.

Paper long abstract:

The risks and uncertainty associated with childbirth and how to best mitigate these are widely debated in both medical and public discourses of place of birth in Canada. In First Nation communities, these debates extend themselves into the role of the state and state policy as jurisdictional managers and decision makers of birth place for women and their families. This paper explores the issue of risk and birth place for First Nations families in Manitoba within the context of state-provided health care services in the community. It does so through looking at the conflict that arose from the re-introduction of midwifery services in one First Nation community, Norway House Cree Nation, in Northern Manitoba. While most women from Norway House experience maternal evacuation, which is the term used to describe the removal of women from their communities for birth, Norway House is in the process of returning birth to their community through the employment of a provincially funded Aboriginal midwife. This paper discusses the state opposition to the return of midwifery services back to the community and looks at the use of the concept of risk within this setting. One federal doctor opposed to midwifery services stated his reasons were that we were dealing with "high risk people in a high risk environment". Therefore, this paper explores how both people and environments are constructed as high risk, and how this effects the discussion around place of birth for First Nations.