How Much Help? How Much Harm? Working class women’s experiences of prenatal care in East Vancouver

This project sought to interrogate the institution of prenatal care in East Vancouver through the lived experiences of working class and historically marginalized women. Prenatal care in British Columbia is a complex of institutional policies and practices. This project focused on prenatal visits between pregnant women and their chosen maternity care provider. Through the stories and experiences of nine research participants, this project affords insight into how the work of prenatal care might be improved to better the experiences and health outcomes for working class and historically marginalized women and their newborns. This could include integrating more substantive ways of centering women in the institution of prenatal care and recruiting women as active participants, such as the use of group care and lay health care workers. Pregnancy is a time of great change for working class and historically marginalized women, attempts to reduce social inequity can start with the institutions that provide women care throughout pregnancy.