Honouring Indigenous and Cultural Care in Alberta’s Perinatal System
For Indigenous families, pregnancy, birth, and early parenting are deeply cultural experiences — shaped by tradition, community, and connection to land and ancestors. Yet many families enter hospital systems that were not built with Indigenous ways of knowing in mind.
Indigenous and cultural care in perinatal spaces is about restoring dignity, respect, and choice. It is about ensuring families feel safe, heard, and supported — not only medically, but culturally and emotionally as well.
Indigenous Birth Services and Supports
Across Alberta, Indigenous-led birth services and community supports are working to bridge the gap between traditional knowledge and modern healthcare. These services often include:
Indigenous doulas and birth workers
Cultural teachings around pregnancy and postpartum
Support for ceremony and traditional practices
Family-centred and community-based care
Connecting with an Indigenous doula or cultural birth worker can help families feel grounded and empowered in hospital settings. You can explore Indigenous-led and culturally aligned Indigenous Doulas through the Lunvera Circle Resource Network.
These supports do not replace medical care — they complement it by ensuring families are emotionally and culturally supported throughout their journey.
Family and Community Supports
Indigenous family support programs recognize that birth affects more than one person. Many services extend care to:
Partners and extended family
New parents and caregivers
Families experiencing loss or trauma
Parents navigating child welfare or housing concerns
Community-based programs help families feel less isolated and more connected during vulnerable transitions. You can explore family and community support options through the Lunvera Circle Resource Network here.
Hospital Liaison and Patient Navigator Services
Many Alberta hospitals offer Indigenous Liaison or Patient Navigator services to support Indigenous patients while receiving care. These workers help families:
Communicate with healthcare providers
Understand medical processes
Advocate for cultural needs
Access spiritual or ceremonial supports
Navigate complex systems
If you are entering hospital care, you can ask directly for Indigenous Patient Support or Liaison Services through Alberta Health Services (AHS).
These services exist to ensure Indigenous patients feel respected and supported — and families are encouraged to use them.
Cultural Safety and Hospital Responsibilities in Alberta
Hospitals in Alberta are guided by cultural safety and Indigenous health commitments that recognize the need for respectful, inclusive care. This includes:
Respect for cultural practices and beliefs
Support for family presence and community involvement
Trauma-informed and culturally responsive care
Recognition of historical and systemic harms
Alberta Health Services has committed to Indigenous health frameworks that promote safer care environments for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit patients. You can learn more about these commitments here.
Families have the right to request culturally safe care and to ask questions when something feels misaligned with their values.
Finding a Doctor Who Respects Cultural Care
Having a healthcare provider who listens and respects cultural identity is an important part of perinatal wellbeing. In Alberta, families can search for physicians who are accepting new patients through:
You can also ask Primary Care Networks or Health Link (811) for guidance on finding culturally respectful providers.
When Cultural Safety Is Not Respected
If you experience care that feels dismissive, discriminatory, or unsafe, you are allowed to speak up. Alberta offers formal pathways for concerns. Read the list of ways to report inadequate care here.
Reporting concerns is not about punishment — it is about accountability and safer care for future families.
Walking Together with Culture and Care
Indigenous and cultural care in the perinatal season is about more than services — it is about relationship. It honours the truth that families thrive when their identities, stories, and traditions are respected.
Lunvera Circle exists to help families find culturally safe supports, build community, and navigate systems with confidence. Whether through Indigenous birth workers, hospital liaisons, or community programs, families deserve care that reflects who they are.
Your culture belongs in your care.
Your voice belongs in your journey.
And you do not have to walk this path alone.
