Primary Health Service
What is Mana 4 Mums, and when was it established?
Mana 4 Mums is a free community-based maternity service organisation in New Zealand. It was created in 2019 under the guidance of Ranjna Patel.
When and where was Te Tiriti signed?
6 February 1840 in Waitangi, Bay of Islands
What is colonisation?
Taking land and repressing indigenous culture through means of force, legislation, and assimilation, usually perpetrated by western European countries and the United States of America
Who is the primary demographic that Mana 4 Mums supports?
Mana 4 Mums supports Māori and Pacific mothers under 22 years of age.
What are the four articles of Te Tiriti?
Article 1: Kawanatanga - In the Māori text of article 1, Māori gave the British ‘kawanatanga’, the right of governance
Article 2: Tino Rangatiratanga - The Māori text of article 2 uses the word 'rangatiratanga' in promising to uphold the authority that tribes had always had over their lands and taonga. This choice of wording emphasises status and authority.
Article 3: Oritetanga - In article 3 of the Māori text, the Queen agrees to give Māori the same rights and duties of citizenship as the people of England. This article emphasises equality and equity.
Article 4: Wairuatanga - In article 4 of the Maori text it ensures that Māori and Pākehā alike have the freedom and protection to practise their religion, faith and cultural customs.
What law prohibited traditional Māori medical practices?
The Tohunga Suppression Act of 1907 (someone could then mention how it must have been difficult not to have access to the healing arts they were more comfortable with and have to rely on those who had stolen their authority to help them when they were ill).
What is the mission of Mana 4 Mums, and how do they aim to achieve it?
Mana 4 Mums' mission is to promote maternal wellbeing by providing family-centred, culturally safe care. They aim to bridge the gap between Pēpē and Māmā and essential maternity support in South and West Auckland, focusing on nurturing the emotional, physical, and mental well-being of mothers.
Does Mana 4 Mums try to uphold the articles of Te Tiriti, and how?
Yes, Mana 4 Mums does try to uphold the articles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. There is still prevalent inequality in young Māori and Pacific women accessing maternity support services. Mana 4 Mums tries to bridge that gap between women and maternity services by helping connect women with LMCs and maternity services early on in their pregnancy. According to the preamble of Te Tiriti, the purpose of it was the desire for peaceful coexistence, mutual respect and protection of Māori rights and land. The preamble sets the themes of partnership, care, and support for Mana 4 Mums. Mana 4 Mums advocates for community support and empowerment amongst young Māori and Pacific mothers.
How did the actions of colonial powers disenfranchise indigenous people?
Stealing land resulted in Māori being stripped of the means to provide for themselves. Assuming power and rule while simultaneously excluding Māori from government and taking away their traditional self-governance.
How does Mana 4 Mums collaborate with healthcare providers to ensure culturally safe care?
Mana 4 Mums collaborates with midwives, other healthcare providers, and Māori health organisations to ensure that the care received by Māmā aligns with their cultural values and is tailored to their needs. They also collaborate with organisations to aid in providing a support network that includes advice on parenting, maternal mental healthcare and access to different community resources.
How does Mana 4 Mums uphold each article of Te Tiriti?
Article 1: Mana 4 Mums guarantees governance and the right to self-determination, by actively involving Māori as well as Pacific mothers by ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making processes. For example, the program may incorporate Māori perspectives and cultural practices in its support services, allowing Māori mothers, local iwi and community leaders to have a say in how programs are designed and delivered. Thus creating an environment that values cultural knowledge and leadership.
Article 2: Mana for Mums upholds this article by ensuring that Māori and Pacifica mothers have their tino rangatiratanga (sovereignty) respected and upheld. This involves recognising and supporting their rights to make decisions regarding their families and well-being. The program offers culturally appropriate resources that reflect the unique needs and values of these communities, ensuring that mothers feel empowered and supported in their choices.
Article 3: Mana 4 Mums creates equal opportunity for all women as they facilitate access to maternity services for young Maori and Pacific women who otherwise would have had difficulty accessing them. By providing this service specifically for young Maori and Pacific women they provide equitable support as they are the demographic who need that extra support throughout their maternity journey due to barriers like impacts of colonisation, socioeconomic status, financial barriers, cultural barriers, etc. This service promotes all women having access to receiving safe, high quality maternity care.
Article 4: Mana 4 Mums upholds the guidelines outlined in Turanga Kaupapa and it is a culturally safe primary health service as they appreciate whakapapa and whanau and enable them to be incorporated throughout the women’s maternity journeys. They fulfil the Turanga Kaupapa guidelines as they support young Maori and Pacific women to bring their cultural practices into their maternity journey. They are also culturally safe as they try to pair Maori and Pacific women with LMC’s of the same culture as they acknowledge they will have a better understanding of the cultural practices associated with the maternity journey within that culture and can help to incorporate those practices in the women’s maternity journeys.
How does generational deprivation impact wellbeing?
Deprivation limits the whānau’s access to quality nutrition, healthcare, education, housing, and many other things, all of which have negative impacts on wellbeing. Additionally, being born into a family experiencing deprivation reduces one’s opportunities to develop a better life for oneself in the future.
What services and resources does Mana 4 Mums offer to support Māori and Pacific mothers?
Mana 4 Mums offers a variety of services, including antenatal and postnatal support, breastfeeding guidance, mental health services, parenting advice, maternal mental healthcare, and access to community resources. Mana 4 Mums support women with booking a scan appointment, finding an LMC, parenting classes, emotional health issues, having a smoke- and alcohol-free pregnancy, Engaging with a social worker, well-child checks, enrolling the baby with Plunket, WINZ, car seat safety, safe sleep messaging, housing assistance, immunisation recalls, contraception and breastfeeding support. Their approach is holistic, focusing on empowering women and their families throughout their childbearing journey.
Why is it so important for a primary health service like Mana 4 Mums to uphold the articles of Te Tiriti?
In New Zealand, Māori and Pasifika people experience the most disadvantage and more maternal health inequity. Under Te Tiriti o Waitangi Māori have rights to have their health protected. Developing and strengthening effective integrated primary health services like Mana 4 Mums is one strategy for addressing inequity. Māori and Pasifika people will experience better health outcomes when services are more easily accessed, better connected and address social and cultural determinants of health. Achieving equity lens requires a focus on meaningful engagement, developing the workforce to ensure culturally safe practice, elimination of racism and discrimination, and integration of cultural values, practices and concepts into health care. Mana 4 Mums is a service that works towards eradicating the maternal health inequity between women of different ages and ethnicities in New Zealand by engaging with these women in a way that supports them and their culture but still enables them to make decisions for themselves to control the care they receive. Without primary health services like Mana 4 Mums it would become more difficult to erase the inequities women face when accessing maternity healthcare.
How does Mana 4 Mums improve hauora for Māori and Pasifika women?
Mana 4 Mums create an environment of cultural safety which facilitates young women to navigate the health system whose cultural basis is colonial and often upholds different values than indigenous peoples, usually making the experience of accessing care culturally unsafe. They connect women with resources to support the best possible start for the next generation.