Dr Sandra Eades: first Aboriginal doctor to be awarded a PhD

Dr Sandra Eades has become Australia’s first Aboriginal medical doctor to be awarded a Doctorate of philosophy for her investigation of the health of Aboriginal women and children in the Perth area.

‘Dr Eades has provided a vital, detailed and multi layered analysis of the state of health of many Aboriginal families in Perth and I know has been pivotal in raising awareness among Aboriginal families to improve the health of pregnant women and children’, said Professor Stanley, Director of the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Western Australia.

With the assistance of 274 urban Aboriginal families, Dr Eades examined a range of factors that influence poor birth outcomes and health in the first 12 months of life.

The ‘Bibbulung Gnarneep’ Solid Kid Study was the first to demonstrate a strong link between infant health outcomes and social factors such as maternal educational level and access to housing. The risk of significant illness in infants was found to be higher if mothers had completed less than Year 10 secondary schooling or lived in a house in a bad state of repair.

Dr Eades’ study found factors such as high blood pressure before pregnancy, vaginal bleeding during pregnancy and maternal consumption of excess spirits during pregnancy were all associated with poorer birth outcomes. It also found that 65 percent of mothers in the study smoked during pregnancy and 82 percent of infants were exposed to passive smoke in the home, a finding that reflects the frequent occurrence of respiratory illness among Aboriginal infants exposed to tobacco smoke.

Dr Eades has developed a follow up study to test whether a culturally appropriate behavioural intervention can assist pregnant Indigenous women to quit smoking during pregnancy.

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