The Chilcapamba-McGill Partnership: Exploring Access to Maternal and Newborn Care in Indigenous Communities of Ecuador.

BACKGROUND

Based on a participatory research (PR) partnership between Family Medicine at McGill University, Canada and the Andean community of Chilcapamba, Ecuador, a medical student study focused on maternal and newborn health.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the access to maternal and newborn care and the occurrence of intrafamilial violence in women with children 5 years of age or less in three indigenous communities of Ecuador.

METHODS

A semistructured survey explored the perinatal and intrapartum care as well as intrafamilial violence.

RESULTS

All women (N = 30) received prenatal care, 29 received postnatal care from a physician and 77% gave birth at the hospital. Eighty percent of women experienced intrafamilial violence; 73% reported psychological and 53% physical violence.

CONCLUSIONS

There is good access to maternal and newborn health care, although the reported level of violence is high. Results were shared with the community and will be used in a local community health worker (CHW) training program. Our project highlights the importance of PR to investigate sensitive health challenges.