Birth research a world-first

The Gomeroi gaaynggal program, run through the University of Newcastle and with centres in Tamworth and Walgett, has recruited more than 250 women since 2009, following them through pregnancy, and then continuing to monitor the progress of mum and child for the first five years of that child’s life.

Dr Kym Rae, who’s based in Tamworth and is the project coordinator, said the study was a world-first.

“(Our research) definitely has international ramifications,” she said.

“We have the largest group of indigenous women in pregnancy in the world and being able to understand the impact of many things on pregnancy outcomes is very important for indigenous people, because birth outcomes are poorer.”

Other countries are already realising the opportunities that exist for improving the health outcomes for their own indigenous populations, the Gomeroi gaaynggal team most recently collaborating with McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and the nearby Six Nations reservation.

Now, more than five years into the project, some of the first recruits are up to their fifth baby with Gomeroi gaaynggal, which means “babies from Gomeroi lands”, and the team has just done the first fifth year visit with their very first study participant.

It’s all adding up to some startling results, which will form the basis of the paper that’s been accepted by the Journal of Pregnancy and Childbirth.

Dr Rae said one of the standout findings from the research to date related to complications in pregnancy.

“The thing I found really confronting was out of the group of women (in the study) there were very few uncomplicated pregnancies,” she said.

“Forty-three per cent were uncomplicated so the vast majority of mothers actually had complications, either of their own or (related to) a birth outcome.”

“Compared to rates in non-indigenous populations, it’s appalling.”