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THREAD - A few months ago I called a scientist in Toronto for a COVID interview, but when he noticed I was calling from a 780 #, he said he had a more pressing story to tell me. He said syphilis levels were "off the charts" in Edmonton, and as a result, "babies are dying". 1/9 https://twitter.com/keixote/status/1274358710706606080
Syphilis is typically most common among men who have sex with men. But there was a trend clearly specific to Edmonton that troubled Mr Rourke - the outbreaks are occurring in the inner city and disproportionately affecting Indigenous women who are homeless or in the sex trade 2/9
The Women in the Shadows report, detailed further in my story, observed how syphilis infection rates were 20 times higher among Indigenous women compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. That was in 2005/06, and doctors say the numbers have not improved. 3/9
High syphilis rates in the Edmonton area is not new. But congenital syphilis, which is when a women passes the infection to her child, is rising. When not treated early, it can be fatal. In 2019, Alberta saw 12 still births as a result of congenital syphilis. 4/9
Many of those moms were Indigenous. Most did not access pre-natal care while pregnant, because they were homeless, using drugs, or involved in sex work. So they don't go to the doctor because they're afraid their baby will be taken from them. Sometimes, this leads to tragedy. 5/9
Fear and distrust of the health care system for Indigenous and street-involved women in Canada is very real. I wasn't able to find apprehension rate #s for Indigenous children at birth. But "birth alerts", which flag "high-risk" moms, are still a thing and are clearly racist. 6/9
There is also the historical trauma of forced sterilization and children being taken from their families for more than a century. The racism and stigma Indigenous women face from health care personnel. And the lack of understanding or respect for Indigenous healing methods 7/9
I started this story thinking it was about a new syphilis test in Edmonton. I ended up writing about a deeply flawed system which neglects its most vulnerable, women who desperately want to fix their lives and the barriers they face in trying to do so https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/06/04/babies-die-as-fear-keeps-some-homeless-pregnant-women-away-from-doctors.html 8/9
“Think of those 12 babies...But what about the moms? And their situation with their kids? And the trauma that puts them in a place where they don’t feel there’s a system they can trust that responds to their needs? That’s just not what Canada’s about." https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2020/06/04/babies-die-as-fear-keeps-some-homeless-pregnant-women-away-from-doctors.html 9/9
