scholarly journals Maternal socio-economic disadvantage in Aotearoa New Zealand and the impact on midwifery care

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 ◽  
pp. 26-34
Author(s):  
Lesley Dixon ◽  
Eva Neely ◽  
Alison Eddy ◽  
Briony Raven ◽  
Carol Bartle

Background: Maternal socio-economic disadvantage affects the short- and long-term health of women and their babies, with pregnancy being a particularly vulnerable time. Aim: The aim of this study was to identify the key factors that relate to poverty for women during pregnancy and childbirth (as identified by midwives), the effects on women during maternity care and the subsequent impact on the midwives providing that care. Method: Survey methodology was used to identify Aotearoa New Zealand midwives’ experiences of working with women living with socio-economic disadvantage. Findings: A total of 436 midwives (16.3%) who were members of the New Zealand College of Midwives responded to the survey, with 55% working in the community as Lead Maternity Care midwives, or caseloading midwives, and the remainder mostly working in maternity facilities. The survey results found that 70% of the cohort of midwives had worked with women living with whānau (family) /friends; 69% with women who had moved house during pregnancy due to the unaffordability of housing; 66% with women who lived in overcrowded homes; and 56.6% with women who lived in emergency housing, in garages (31.6%), in cars (16.5%) or on the streets (11%). The cohort of midwives identified that women’s non-attendance of appointments was due to lack of transport and lack of money for phones, resulting in a limited ability to communicate. In these circumstances these midwives reported going to women’s homes to provide midwifery care to optimise the chances of making contact. The midwives reported needing to spend more time than usual referring and liaising with other services and agencies, to ensure that the woman and her baby/ family had the necessities of life and health. This cohort of midwives identified that women’s insufficient income meant that midwives needed to find ways to support them to access prescriptions and transport for hospital appointments. The midwives also indicated there was a range of social issues, such as family violence, drugs, alcohol, and care and protection concerns, that directly affected their work. Conclusion: Recognising the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on maternal health and wellbeing is important to improving both maternal and child health. This cohort of midwives identified that they are frequently working with women living with disadvantage; they see the reality of women’s lives and the difficulties and issues they may face in relation to accessing physical and social support during childbirth.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Neely ◽  
Lesley Dixon ◽  
Carol Bartle ◽  
Briony Raven ◽  
Clive Aspin

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Calum Bennachie ◽  
Annah Pickering ◽  
Jenny Lee ◽  
P. G. Macioti ◽  
Nicola Mai ◽  
...  

In 2003, Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) passed the Prostitution Reform Act 2003 (PRA), which decriminalized sex work for NZ citizens and holders of permanent residency (PR) while excluding migrant sex workers (MSWs) from its protection. This is due to Section 19 (s19) of the PRA, added at the last minute against advice by the Aotearoa New Zealand Sex Workers’ Collective (NZPC) as an anti-trafficking clause. Because of s19, migrants on temporary visas found to be working as sex workers are liable to deportation by Immigration New Zealand (INZ). Drawing on original ethnographic and interview data gathered over 24 months of fieldwork, our study finds that migrant sex workers in New Zealand are vulnerable to violence and exploitation, and are too afraid to report these to the police for fear of deportation, corroborating earlier studies and studies completed while we were collecting data.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 907-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darren N. King ◽  
Wendy S. Shaw ◽  
Peter N. Meihana ◽  
James R. Goff

Abstract. Māori oral histories from the northern South Island of Aotearoa-New Zealand provide details of ancestral experience with tsunami(s) on, and surrounding, Rangitoto (D'Urville Island). Applying an inductive-based methodology informed by collaborative storytelling, exchanges with key informants from the Māori kin groups of Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Kuia reveal that a folk tale, published in 1907, could be compared to and combined with active oral histories to provide insights into past catastrophic saltwater inundations. Such histories reference multiple layers of experience and meaning, from memorials to ancestral figures and their accomplishments to claims about place, authority and knowledge. Members of Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Kuia, who permitted us to record some of their histories, share the view that there are multiple benefits to be gained by learning from differences in knowledge, practice and belief. This work adds to scientific as well as Maōri understandings about tsunami hazards (and histories). It also demonstrates that to engage with Māori oral histories (and the people who genealogically link to such stories) requires close attention to a politics of representation, in both past recordings and current ways of retelling, as well as sensitivities to the production of new and plural knowledges. This paper makes these narratives available to a new audience, including those families who no longer have access to them, and recites these in ways that might encourage plural knowledge development and co-existence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 41-48
Author(s):  
Rachel Cassie ◽  
Christine Griffiths ◽  
George Parker

Background: Interprofessional communication is a critical component of safe maternity care. The literature reports circumstances in Aotearoa New Zealand and overseas when interprofessional collaboration works well between midwives and obstetricians, as well as descriptions of unsatisfactory communication between the two professions. Aim: To explore and define effective collaboration between midwives and obstetricians at the primary/secondary interface in maternity care, in order to generate suggestions to foster positive collaboration. Method: Eight primary care midwives, three obstetricians and two obstetric registrars from a single District Health Board in Aotearoa New Zealand were interviewed about their interactions at the primary/secondary interface and their understanding, and use, of the Referral Guidelines. The theoretical perspective was Appreciative Inquiry. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Results indicate usually positive interprofessional interactions. Dominant emergent themes are the need to negotiate differing philosophies, to clarify blurred boundaries that sometimes lead to lack of clear lines of responsibility, and the importance of three-way conversations. Of the three themes, this article focuses on three-way communication between midwife, obstetrician/registrar and woman. Participants reported that, when effective three-way communication between woman, midwife and obstetrician occurred, philosophical difference could be negotiated, blurred boundaries clarified and understanding of the respective roles of the LMC midwife and the obstetric team promoted. Participants value the Referral Guidelines but report some limitations to their applicability. Conclusion: Effective three-way communication promotes good maternity care. This study has identified ways to support optimal communication.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Wilson ◽  
Janet Hoek ◽  
Nhung Nghiem ◽  
Jennifer Summers ◽  
Leah Grout ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAimTo provide preliminary high-level modelling estimates of the impact of denicotinisation of tobacco on changes in smoking prevalence in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ).MethodsAn Excel spreadsheet was populated with smoking/vaping prevalence data from the NZ Health Survey and business-as-usual trends projected. Using various parameters from the literature (NZ trial data, NZ EASE-ITC Study results), we modelled the impact of denicotinisation of tobacco (with no other tobacco permitted for sale) out to 2025, the year of this country’s Smokefree Goal. Scenario 1 used estimates from a published expert knowledge elicitation process, and Scenario 2 considered the addition of extra mass media campaign and quitline support to the base case.ResultsWith the denicotinisation intervention, adult daily smoking prevalences were all estimated to decline to under 5% in 2025 for non-Māori and in one scenario for Māori (Indigenous population) (2.5% in Scenario 1). However, prevalence did not fall below five percent in the base case for Māori (7.7%) or with Scenario 2 (5.2%). In the base case, vaping was estimated to increase to 7.9% in the adult population in 2025, and up to 10.7% in one scenario (Scenario 1).ConclusionsThis preliminary, high-level modelling suggests a mandated denicotinisation policy for could provide a realistic chance of achieving the NZ Government’s Smokefree 2025 Goal. The probability of success would further increase if supplemented with other interventions such as mass media campaigns with Quitline support (especially if targeted for a predominantly Māori audience). Nevertheless, there is much uncertainty with these preliminary high-level results and more sophisticated modelling is highly desirable.


Multilingua ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tania M. Ka’ai

AbstractInspired by Joshua Fishman’s lifetime dedication to the revitalisation of minority languages, especially Yiddish, this paper presents my personal story of the loss of the Māori language in my family in New Zealand/Aotearoa and our attempts to reverse this decline over several generations. The paper includes a description of several policy reforms and events in Aotearoa/New Zealand’s history and the impact of colonisation on the Māori language, which, as seen in other colonised peoples around the world, has contributed to the decline of this indigenous language. The paper also presents the mobilisation of Māori families and communities, including my own family, to establish their own strategies and initiatives to arrest further language decline and to reverse language loss in Māori families in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This article, combining story and history, should be read as a historiography of the Māori language, based on the author’s acknowledgement that other indigenous minority communities, globally, and their languages also have experienced the effects of colonisation and language loss. This article, much like a helix model, weaves together a narrative and history of Māori language loss, pain, resilience, and hope and seeks to establish that no language, because it contains the DNA of our cultural identity, should be allowed to die. A table of key landmarks of the history of the Māori language also is included.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-61
Author(s):  
Julia Tanner ◽  
◽  
Xiaodan Gao ◽  

Data on the services and staffing in tertiary learning centres are necessary for providing professional support for tertiary learning advisors (TLAs). Full scale surveys of Aotearoa New Zealand centres were conducted in 2008 and 2013. In 2019, a third survey was conducted to explore whether the identified trends were continuing and whether there were any changes. This survey was sent to managers and team leaders at 26 tertiary learning institutions in Aotearoa New Zealand. Four topics were investigated: 1) the professional status of TLAs; 2) learning centre organisation; 3) the services provided by TLAs; 4) trends and changes since 2013. In 2020, when the lockdown resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic meant all centres had to cease operating face-to-face services for an extended period, some follow-up questions about the impact of Covid-19 were sent to the respondents of the 2019 survey. This report presents the five main findings of the 2019/2020 surveys, and provides comparisons with the previous surveys. First, more TLAs had postgraduate qualifications, and more TLAs were given general/professional contracts than academic contracts. Second, fewer learning centres were part of libraries or teaching and learning development units. Third, centres provided a similar range of services, with an increase in pastoral and wellbeing support. Fourth, services were more embedded, and more were delivered in online/blended modes, particularly since Covid-19. Lastly, changes in learning centres’ structures and service delivery were due to institutional financial pressure and student needs. We make some recommendations, including changing some questions in future surveys, updating the ATLAANZ professional practice document regularly, and implementing a TLA accreditation scheme in Aotearoa New Zealand.


Author(s):  
Taylor Alexander Hughson

AbstractThis article seeks to explain how Aotearoa New Zealand moved from a consensus that the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) should grant a high degree of autonomy to teachers, to an emerging view that it ought to be more prescriptive about content. To do this, it takes an assemblage approach to policy analysis, understanding policies as constantly evolving ‘bundles’ of divergent components temporarily woven together. The article first explores the complex intermingling of Third Way priorities, knowledge economy discourses, educational progressivism and narratives of ‘harmonious’ biculturalism which constitute the 2007 NZC. It then explores the sustained critique of the NZC from the 2015 parliamentary petition calling for compulsory teaching of the New Zealand Wars, up to the government’s 2021 ‘curriculum refresh’ announcement. It is argued that this ‘refresh’ moves to reassemble the NZC so that it accommodates a series of demands made of it in recent years, including demands the curriculum take a more active role in redressing the impact of colonisation, and demands from both business-aligned groups and academics that the curriculum become more ‘knowledge-led’.


Author(s):  
Pauline Dawson ◽  
Chrys Jaye ◽  
Robin Gauld ◽  
Jean Hay-Smith

Abstract Background The purpose of this review was to examine the literature for themes of underlying social contributors to inequity in maternal health outcomes and experiences in the high resource setting of Aotearoa New Zealand. These ‘causes of the causes’ were explored and compared with the international context to identify similarities and New Zealand-specific differences. Method A structured integrative review methodology was employed to enable a complex cross disciplinary analysis of data from a variety of published sources. This method enabled incorporation of diverse research methodologies and theoretical approaches found in the literature to form a unified overall of the topic. Results Six integrated factors – Physical Access, Political Context, Maternity Care System, Acceptability, Colonialism, and Cultural factors – were identified as barriers to equitable maternal health in Aotearoa New Zealand. The structure of the maternal health system in New Zealand, which includes free maternity care and a woman centred continuity of care structure, should help to ameliorate inequity in maternal health and yet does not appear to. A complex set of underlying structural and systemic factors, such as institutionalised racism, serve to act as barriers to equitable maternity outcomes and experiences. Initiatives that appear to be working are adapted to the local context and involve self-determination in research, clinical outreach and community programmes. Conclusions The combination of six social determinants identified in this review that contribute to maternal health inequity is specific to New Zealand, although individually these factors can be identified elsewhere; this creates a unique set of challenges in addressing inequity. Due to the specific social determinants in Aotearoa New Zealand, localised solutions have potential to further maternal health equity.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document