Rates of smoking during pregnancy are around 12 per cent in the general population. However those numbers are much higher for Indigenous women. In this episode of BLA.C.K. Medicine, Dr Mikayala Couch speaks with Yuin woman and registered midwife Chelsea Winder about why high rates of smoking persist, and how targeted programs can help reduce the rates of smoking during pregnancy for Indigenous women.

Keeley Starling: How remote nursing made me a better nurse

BLA.C.K. Medicine is a health podcast for Indigenous peoples by Indigenous peoples, hosted by Dr Mikayla Couch. We talk about a broad range of health topics relevant to Indigenous Australians including medicines, common issues we face, closing the gap, awesome new initiatives, and how you can improve your own health. The C in BLA.C.K. stands for colonisation and its ongoing impact on Indigenous health. Dr Mikayla Couch is a Bundjalung woman from Tweed Heads and a gynaecology and obstetrics registrar. She interviews First Nations doctors and health care professionals to pick their brains on Indigenous health and learn from what they’ve been working on. Hear some cracking chats on men’s, women’s and children’s health. Everything from burnout and mental health, to COVID-19, pap smears, nutrition and sexology.