Yorga, Maaman and Koolanga Research & Advocacy Centre

About the centre

Women’s and men’s connected life course from pregnancy to parenthood and their children’s early years benefit greatly from a strong start in those journeys and is fundamental for the future of empowered, healthy and resilient children, parents, families and communities.

Multidisciplinary and cross institutional collaborations of researchers, clinicians, community members, Elders, policy makers and health services are central to translational research evidence that strengthens and supports Aboriginal women, men, and families every step of their journeys from and beyond pregnancy.

Supporting Aboriginal women, men and families

We believe that healthy mothers supported by Elders’ wisdom combined with culturally safe services optimises infant and child outcomes. This includes developing resources which promote Aboriginal voices and detail lived experience.

Protecting cultural heritage: Ngangk Waangening: Mothers’ Stories was published in 2021 creating an important cultural legacy for current and future Aboriginal families. Twelve Elder and Senior women’s birth stories are featured together with carefully crafted learning opportunities which direct health professional’s knowledge and awareness of Aboriginal cultural birthing practices with the aim of promoting culturally safe birth experiences for all Aboriginal women.

Linking mental health and child development outcomes: Our deep examination of the causal associations between mental health and child development outcomes is shaping when and how to address Aboriginal parent’s mental health problems prior to birth and developmental outcomes during the early years.

Creating a more equitable and culturally safe maternity care system: We have developed models of care and clinical ‘tools’ which Aboriginal women feel confident and safe using, reducing fragmentation and facilitating better communication between Aboriginal women, their families and communities and health service providers.

Ngangk Yira works closely with the WA government, contributing high level expertise to projects and initiatives which seek to ensure Aboriginal women have access to culturally safe maternity care.

Core research areas and projects

Baby Coming You Ready?

We know supporting young people, parents and families optimises personal and community resilience, self-determination and nurtures future community leaders. View the project website here.

Changing current practice: Baby Coming You Ready? is positively changing perinatal clinical practice through a culturally designed digital platform. Aboriginal women and health practitioners join to problem solve and create strengths-based care planning via a comprehensive ‘record’ of each woman’s individual strengths, circumstances and concerns.
Promoting inclusivity: Understanding what Aboriginal parents need to maintain their resilience and social and emotional wellbeing is the basis of developing effective and culturally appropriate programs and services.
Culturally responsive measures: New generation mental health and well-being assessment combines the parent’s self-reflection with therapeutic intervention that supports client-directed follow-up care.

Replanting the Birthing Trees

This is an Aboriginal-led project which aims to transform compounding cycles of intergenerational trauma and harm to positively reinforcing cycles of intergenerational nurturing and recovery for First Nations parents and babies during the first 2000 days.

In partnership with University of Melbourne, Murdoch University, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives, Emerging Minds, Healing Foundation, the Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation Koori Maternity Service, Lowitja Institute; Mercy Hospital for Women; Royal Women’s Hospital; Orygen; We Al-li Pty Ltd, Blue Knot Foundation, Centre of Perinatal Excellence, SNAICC- National Voice for our Children.

Wongi Mi Bardup

Wongi mi bardup (doing it our way): methodologies promoting Aboriginal knowledges and cultural practices for Birthing on Noongar Boodjar.

The cultural security of Aboriginal mothers birthing in an urban maternity facility: Investigating Aboriginal women’s cultural needs; and evaluating the cultural competency, workforce and education needs of midwives, known as the Birthing on Noongar Boodjar (BoNB) project, has focused on cultural security as a concept that is central to achieving a maternity health care system that enables Aboriginal women to safely give birth while having their cultural requirements understood, met and supported.

The decision to focus on the role of midwives in this project was made due to most Aboriginal women being likely to access maternity care through public maternity services where they more frequently encounter midwives or midwife-led maternity practices.