Judith Collins Family and Welfare Spokesperson 12 May 2006

Working Hard for Families

Celebrating Mums Mother's Day is a perfect opportunity for quality family time.

A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie. ~Tenneva Jordan

AS I LOOK BACK...

As I look back on my life I find myself wondering... Did I remember to thank you for all that you have done for me?

For all of the times you were by my side to help me celebrate my successes and accept my defeats?

Or for teaching me the value of hard work, good judgement, courage, and honesty?

I wonder if I've ever thanked you for the simple things... The laughter, smiles, and quiet times we've shared?

If I have forgotten to express my gratitude For any of these things, I am thanking you now... and I am hoping that you've known all along, how very much you are loved and appreciated.

~Author Unknown~

Mums supporting mums On the topic of wonderful mothers, an Auckland mum, Minka Phillips, has created a website offering support and advice to other mums across New Zealand. The website www.mothersonline.co.nz will be launched this Mother's Day, and will have chatrooms, forums, and support networks. What a fantastic idea! Motherhood is a wonderful but challenging experience and we do need all the support we can get.

To acknowledge all mothers' hard work and caring, Statistics New Zealand is marking Mother's Day on Sunday, 14 May with some facts about new mothers in 2005.

* There were 57,740 live births compared with 58,100 in 2004. * There were 30,250 first-time mothers, representing 53 percent of all live births. * Twins were born to 470 first-time mothers, and another nine new mothers had triplets.

* A total of 1,760 children were multiple births, which compares with 1,150 in 1975.

* The median age of a first-time mother in 2005 was 28 years. * The median age of all women giving birth in 2005 was 30 years, compared with 25 years in 1975.

* On Mother's Day in 2005, 138 babies were born to 134 mothers.

ENDS

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