# The Need for Culturally Responsive Nutritional Counselling for Pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women in Australia

## TL;DR

This study highlights the need for culturally appropriate nutrition counseling for pregnant Indigenous women in Australia to improve health outcomes.

## Contribution

The paper investigates how Indigenous women access nutrition information and proposes community dietitians in antenatal clinics as a solution.

## Key findings

- Pregnant Indigenous women actively seek nutrition information from healthcare practitioners.
- Current nutrition advice fails to meet the cultural and informational needs of Indigenous women.
- Community dietitians in antenatal clinics are recommended to better support Indigenous pregnant women.

## Abstract

Access to high-quality, culturally responsive nutrition advice during pregnancy is necessary for optimal health outcomes for mothers and babies. Evidence indicates that age, education and access to trained healthcare practitioners have a positive correlation with healthy food intake and positive outcomes. There are limited studies that discuss the importance of providing culturally responsive nutrition advice to pregnant Indigenous women. Therefore, this paper investigates the sources from which Indigenous women access nutrition information, assesses its adequacy in meeting needs, and identifies the effective ways to deliver this information. This study took place in Queensland (QLD), New South Wales (NSW), and Western Australia (WA), which were chosen to represent diverse cultural communities. A total of 103 participants were recruited, including Indigenous women and healthcare practitioners. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed. Participants indicated that pregnant women are highly interested in improving their nutrition knowledge during pregnancy and actively seek information from their healthcare practitioners and dietitians. Findings suggested dissatisfaction with the information received, as it failed to address their needs. Results of this paper call for an urgent increased presence of community dietitians in antenatal clinics dedicated to Indigenous pregnant women as an additional way to provide families with the information they need for healthy pregnancies.