WW publications

The Child Protection Toolkit was developed to provide information for parents, guardians, lawyers, doulas, and support people to understand how a child's right to breastfeed impacts child protection cases. We outline the health and social benefits of breast and chestfeeding, what it means to protect the "best interests of the child", legal rights, and considerations for Indigenous people.

The Black Doula Toolkit works to break through the narrative and act as a celebration of Black birthing and Black joy. It is written by a Black woman, for Black women and birthing people.

It includes sections on addressing common health concerns for pregnant people of African Descent, appropriate language, Black families and parenting, advocacy and asserting yourself with health care professionals, and birth planning resources.

Toolkit for Doulas: Gender-Based Violence: This project was led by Carrie Low, an accomplished and acclaimed advocate for survivor’s rights in the criminal justice system in Nova Scotia, with support from Grisha Cowal, Clare Heggie, and Dr. Martha Paynter.

Accessing Abortion in Canada: Abortion in Canada is completely decriminalized, it is healthcare. This resource provides contact information for providers across the country.

Resources by Black Experts: a PDF of resources that are culturally relevant to the experiences of Black parents.

Criminalized Women Advocacy Guide zine: Created by Students in the Women’s Studies Senior Seminar, Mount Saint Vincent University, March 2018. “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together” — Lilla Watson

Breastfeeding Guide: Breastfeeding and Criminalized Women. A factsheet created by Wellness Within

Procedural Abortion Care for People in Prison in Canada: Despite the improvements to access facilitated by Health Canada approval and widespread availability of mifepristone (medication abortion) since 2015, its use may be problematic in prison. The medication regimen requires the pills be taken 24-48 hours apart and causes heavy bleeding and pain, challenging for patients in prisons due to lack menstrual supplies, and unhygienic and isolating contexts. For this reason, this guide focuses on access to procedural abortion.

Legal Protections for Incarcerated Women: The Bangkok Rules, The Mandela Rules, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Nova Scotia Corrections Act, Canada Corrections and Conditional Release Act, Commissionaire’s Directive 800, The Canadian Constitution Act, Human Rights legislation.

For doula support to meet the needs of clients from systematically excluded communities, it must be representative and culturally safe. In recognizing that doulas in Nova Scotia are predominately white, straight and cisgender, Wellness Within has prioritized queer doula education in our training program by incorporating the Queer Doula Toolkit and coordinating dedicated training for the 2SLGBTQ+ and QTBIPOC communities.

WW Resource Guide: Where to Go for Help in HRM: A Resource Guide V 4.0. This resource guide is to help you navigate programs and services in the HRM and other regions of Nova Scotia. You can also get version 2.0 and version 3.0.

 

WW 2019 Brochure

WW Annual Reports 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023

Academic Publications

Journal of Prisoners on Prisons: Vol. 31 No. 2 (2022): Prison Labour | Gender, Health and (In)justice in Canada is a special issue of the Journal of Prisoners on Prisons featuring two dialogue sections. The first, featuring pieces on "Prison Labour", is edited by Jordan House and Kelly Struthers Montford. The second, featuring pieces on "Gender, Health and (In)justice in Canada", is edited by Martha Paynter, OmiSoore Dryden and El Jones.

Peer doula support training for Black and Indigenous groups in Nova Scotia, Canada: A community-based qualitative study.

Maternal Incarceration in a Provincial Prison: Mothers shared experiences of trying to maintain connections with their children through numerous challenges, including emotional distress caused by the separation and significant logistical and financial barriers. Mothers felt their children unfairly bore the burden of their incarceration. They experienced a lack of or outright denial of services while incarcerated, and a lack of transitional support on release, making working towards parenting again difficult and discouraging.