Te Taumata Hauora O Te Kahu O Taonui Launched Landmark Māmā & Pēpi Health Report

Te Taumata Hauora o Te Kahu o Taonui has released a significant new report capturing the lived experiences of Māori mothers and their babies across Te Tai Tokerau and Tāmaki Makaurau. The findings outline persistent barriers to care, widespread cultural and systemic failures, and clear aspirations for a whānau-centred, culturally grounded maternity and early childhood system shaped with, not for, those most affected.

The report draws on extensive hui with Māmā and whānau in both rural and urban settings, as well as wānanga with Māori providers who walk alongside these whānau daily. Through this process, thousands of insights were gathered about access to care, maternal mental health, discrimination, racism, housing instability, inconsistent services, financial hardship, and isolation. These same voices also offered a powerful vision for transformation, calling for integrated supports, kaupapa Māori maternity hubs, strengthened Māori workforce, long-term funding for providers, and genuine cultural safety embedded at every level.

Te Taumata Hauora Chief Executive Boyd Broughton says the findings are a clear directive that system leaders must begin designing from the realities of whānau, not political convenience or institutional comfort.

“Our Māmā were generous in sharing deeply personal journeys. They trusted that their pain, insight, and aspirations would not be filed away but used to change the way the system hears and responds to them. The message is unmistakable. They want a system that does not judge them, rush them, insult them, or make them invisible. They want services that wrap around their whānau, uphold their mana, and reflect the richness of their whakapapa. We have a responsibility to honour that trust and insist that decision makers sit at the table with whānau, not on their behalf.”

Broughton emphasises that the report is not another list of generic recommendations, but a blueprint shaped directly by lived experience and strengthened by the advice of Māori providers across the region.

“Every recommendation in this report comes from whānau. We do not need another round of consultations asking Māmā to repeat the trauma of being unheard. What we need is for government agencies, policymakers, and health leaders to act with courage, humility, and urgency.”

Board Chair Tereki Stewart says the report reinforces what Iwi and hauora leaders have advocated for over decades: change will only come when systems are redesigned according to Māori worldviews and led by those with whakapapa to the communities they serve.

“For too long, Māori have been forced to fit into structures that were never created for us. This report confirms that the greatest breakthroughs occur when services are shaped by tikanga, grounded in whanaungatanga, and led by Māori practitioners who understand the cultural, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the maternity journey. The pathway forward is clear. We must build systems that reflect our values, our relationships, and our aspirations for future generations.”

Broughton says the time for incremental change has ended.

“Māmā in this report told us what they need. Providers told us what is possible. The evidence could not be clearer. System leaders must bring their power, their resources, and their decision-making authority into genuine partnership with whānau. Anything less is a continuation of the status quo, and our whānau have already carried that burden for far too long.”

Stewart concludes with a reminder of the collective responsibility ahead.

“Our Māmā and Pēpi are the seeds of tomorrow. When they are nurtured, our future thrives. The question now is whether those in positions of influence are willing to do what is needed to create the conditions in which they can grow.”

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