Perinatal support at The Mother Well

JO RICHARDS

Golden Bay’s recent and expectant mothers can now tap into a new local care and support service.

The Mother Well is the brainchild of Central Tākaka resident Alesha Hobbs, who is offering pregnancy massage, relaxation massage, and in-home doula services for women in their pregnancy, birth, and postpartum period.

Alesha says this time is special but can be stressful. “There is a lot of fear around birth; women have so many questions.” She also believes the time is critical, and not only for mothers. “A supported perinatal experience is cornerstone to a healthy whānau and healthy community.”

She says her support service is particularly beneficial for new arrivals to the Bay who don’t necessarily have whānau close by. “We’re blessed with a strong sense of community in Mohua, but many people move here without their extended family, and they miss the network of aunties, sisters and mums that would normally journey alongside them during matrescence.”

Alesha explains that, while the role of doula is well established in other parts of the world, it is a relatively new concept in New Zealand. “Although a doula does not typically have formal obstetrics training, they provide emotional, spiritual, and practical support during the perinatal period.”

The Mother Well builds on Alesha’s existing voluntary initiative; for the past seven years she has run a local support group for Golden Bay whānau. “Birth Wisdom – Empowered and Home Birth in Golden Bay, is a free, monthly morning cup of tea open to anyone wanting to share and connect,” says Alesha.

Thanks to funding from the Home Birth Aotearoa Trust, the group also offers two birth pools and kits, which can be hired for home birthing, as well as a free library of birth-related books.

Alesha sees The Mother Well as complementary to the more established providers, to whom she pays generous tribute. “Our local midwives do an amazing job of supporting the varied birth choices of families here in the Bay. They go out of their way and with so much heart.” And she makes a point of supporting them, too. “It’s about time the Government came to the table with pay equity for midwives.”

To mark the opening of The Mother Well, Alesha is offering a $60 special on massage, which is available to both men and women.

For more information, contact Birth Wisdom and/or The Mother Well on Facebook or via email at themother-well@ pm.me and/or birthwisdomgb@gmail.com

Friends Of Nepal

Health Consumer Advisory Group Nelson Bays Primary Health

Do you want to make a difference?

We are looking for Tāngata Whai Ora (consumer representatives) to join the newly established Hauora Matua ki Te Tai Aorere (Nelson Bays Primary Health) Health Consumer Advisory Group

The Health Consumer Advisory Group will work in partnership with consumers, whānau and communities to ensure they are heard by Nelson Bays Primary Health (NBPH), and that consumers have a strong and viable voice in planning, co-designing, and delivering health services across Nelson Bays, health services that are people centred and responsive to the needs of all communities.

The Health Consumer Advisory Group will compromise of members who have diverse backgrounds, contacts, and skills and must be passionate about consumers and whānau being able to access the best possible health services.

We are looking for Tāngata Whai Ora (consumer representatives) from the community who have lived experience of health services personally or as whānau:

• Māori and Pasifika

• LGBTQI + People

• Youth

• Older Persons

• Mental Health and Addictions

• Disabled People

• Have recently accessed health services directly or for whānau

• Are actively engaged in a specific area of health need in their community in a consumer capacity

Payment is made for monthly meetings and other meeting attendance as required.

For the Terms of Reference and Expression of Interest Form, please view online here: www.nbph.org.nz/news/health-consumer-advisory-group

Applications close: 23 June 2023

For further information contact: Emily-Rose Richards, Executive for Corporate and Communications info@nbph.org.nz

NBPH is the Primary Health Organisation (PHO) for the Nelson Tasman region. PHOs lead and coordinate primary health care within the local community. NBPH is committed to reducing the inequalities in health between all peoples.

Golden Bay Friends of Nepal invite everyone interested to attend an upcoming movie fundraiser at the Sustainable Living Centre, on Friday 16 June.

Two films will be screened for a koha entry: Tattooed Trucks of Nepal and Mahout: The Great Elephant Walk Golden Bay Friends of Nepal was created in response to the devastating earthquakes that rocked Nepal in 2015. Now in their eighth year as a New Zealand registered charity, they continue developing projects focused on empowerment, local income generation, women’s health, food resiliency, and agriculture; all without salaries, operating expenses, or travel budget. This enables them to send every single donation to the Nepali people.

Golden Bay donors have directly supported their initiatives:

The Golden Bay Friendship Academy (built in 2016), teaches English, computing, and agriculture. Plants are also propagated in greenhouses and distributed locally.

The Adopt-A-Turkey programme provides a pair of baby turkeys to families, to raise and breed for nutritional and income benefit.

In 2020, Friends of Nepal purchased four high-strength water tanks and piping to provide clean, safe drinking water to 15 “Untouchable” (lowest caste) families.

They regularly donate school and sanitation supplies (notebooks, pencils, soap, and toothpaste) to their 45 students, and have donated study materials to 370 students in nearby villages. They have also donated basic food supplies and seedlings to dozens of other families in challenging situations.

Three new houses have been built for three Dalit (Untouchable) families suffering unfortunate circumstances. In 2021, they partnered with Good Earth Nepal to construct a two-roomed house for a family using earthbag technology, and they built a simple corrugated iron house for another family affected by the 2015 earthquakes.

Their latest two programmes (smokeless stoves and reusable menstrual pads) both focus on local income generation, development of skills, and women’s health. Each simple smokeless stove provides local labour and income funded by a NZ$40 donation. The inspiration for making and distributing cloth menstrual pads came both from an NGO called Days for Girls, as well as a Rites of Passage programme in Golden Bay called Tides. A NZ$20 donation provides a set of 12 reusable and washable pads, soap, and a cloth carry bag. This project provides a reusable menstruation solution, as well as income for village women sewing the pads.

An organic village homestay, about five hours from Kathmandu by bus, is available for volunteers.

The organisation thanks Golden Bay for its support and generosity, as it continues to provide rural Nepalis with projects, inspiration, love, and opportunity.

Movie fundraiser night: Friday 16 June, 5.30-8.30pm, at the Sustainable Living Centre, 24 Waitapu Rd, Tākaka. Entry by koha.

Daniel Bruning - Diggs 027 307 8774 diggslimited@gmail.com

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