Deaths in custody

The critical importance of general maternity services providing support for Aboriginal women is stressed, with a need for more education of perinatal health care providers in the broad range of Aboriginal women's needs, values, cultural experiences and traditions. Services need to accommodate, wherever possible, the fact that intimate care should not be provided by male practitioners, and it is essential that Aboriginal women are informed of possible and proposed procedures, including complications and the possibility of marks on the newborn as a result of treatment. 7 Interpreter services and personal support will also be vital for some women, and integration between the various levels of health services needed by Aboriginal women is crucial." In response to the recent maternal mortality report, the NHMRC is establishing a working party in conjunction with Aboriginal representatives. It is to be hoped that this initiative will receive strong supportthroughoutthe community, and that it can identify ways of ensuring widespread introduction of effective programs determined by Aboriginal women. Some of the obstructions and frustrations currently experienced in seeking to establish primary health care for childbearing women in Aboriginal settings have been documented." The situation does non-Aboriginal Australia no credit. In so many difficult areas of health, promising solutions prove elusive. With Aboriginal maternal health, a way to move forward has been mapped out by Aboriginal women. Until their recommendations have been widely implemented, our health care services will not be supporting Aboriginal women's needs and values appropriately. Improving the conditions which have contributed to Aboriginal ill-health is still not the priority that it should be. The end result is the continuation of health care outcomes which we would not accept for ourselves. If all Australian women were experiencing the