Promoting Healthy Beginnings for Indigenous Children

This report aimed to identify the goals and qualities of effective prenatal, postnatal, maternal and early childhood health programs developed and implemented by and within Indigenous communities in Canada and other high-income countries where Indigenous communities have faced similar histories of colonialism. Using systematic review methods, eight reviews were identified in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. From the eight reviews, we identified four recommendations for policy and practice: make Indigenous children a leading public policy priority for BC and for Canada; commit sufficient and sustained public resources to high-quality Indigenous prenatal and child health programming, including planning, development, implementation and evaluation; ensure that all Indigenous prenatal and early child health programming is led by Indigenous communities; and recognize that Indigenous children deserve public investments in programs with proven benefits, with evaluations incorporating Indigenous perspectives on child flourishing. Together, these recommendations can inform new public investments, ensuring that Indigenous communities have the resources they need to develop, adopt or adapt and evaluate programs that benefit children and families can be informed.