Media Release

Date: 4 October 2012

40 years at Mothercraft

Caption for supplied photo
New mums: From left, Nikki Stokes, Jacqueline Herrett, Kayla Robinson, Clinical Nurse Manager Alison Williams, Candice Haultain and Vicki Glasgow at Mothercraft this week.

For 40 years the Mothercraft Unit at Waikato Hospital has been a vital stepping stone for mothers and their babies – just as founder, the late Elsa Wood, and her supporters imagined.

Mrs Wood was a Karitane nurse and at the time a hospital board member.
The residential care unit opened in late September 1972 to provide help for new mothers. Today the eight-bedroom purpose-built Lockwood house – paid for by a massive community fundraising drive – continues the role, meeting a need which is as vital now as it was 40 years ago.

It remains unique in the New Zealand health scene, the only one of its kind, with its territory expanded to cover all of the Midlands Health area.

“It’s a place for mums (and the occasional dad or grandmother) needing transitional care and extra support managing their baby,” says Alison Williams, the Clinical Nurse Manager who has been in charge of Mothercraft for 23 years.

“Many of the grandparents of today’s Mothercraft mothers and visitors can remember the fund-raising.”

Mothercraft provides wide-ranging and intensive support for mums and their babies from newborns up to one-year-olds. It has access to all Waikato Hospital services, and a dedicated paediatrician. Referrals come from a primary health provider, like a GP, midwife, Plunket or Tamariki Ora nurse. Some come straight from the hospital’s Newborn Care Unit or paediatric wards.

Whatever the reason, once admitted to Mothercraft the nursing staff “are here to guide them and support them”, Alison says.

The unit operates 24 hours a day Monday to Friday.

“One of the wonderful things of this job is people come back and thank you and say you made a real difference to their lives. A lot say ‘It wasn’t easy but you got me there’.’’

The unit has around 300 admissions a year, plus the babies. Over 40 years that’s 12,000 mums and more than that number of babies as there are often twins.
So there have been plenty of people wanting to say thanks - and happy birthday Mothercraft.
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About Waikato District Health Board and Health Waikato:

Waikato DHB is responsible for planning, funding and providing quality health and disability support services for the 372,865 people living in the Waikato DHB region. It has an annual turnover of $1.2 billion and employs more than 6000 people.

Health Waikato is the DHB’s main provider of hospital and health services with an annual budget of more than $701 million and 5238 staff. It has six groups across five hospital sites, three primary birthing units, two continuing care facilities and 20 community bases offering a comprehensive range of primary, secondary and tertiary health services.

A wide range of independent providers deliver other Waikato DHB-funded health services - including primary health, pharmacies and community laboratories.

ENDS