Hāpai Te Hauora launches new podcast on hapūtanga

Hāpai Te Hauora launches a new podcast today on hapūtanga [conception, pregnancy, birth]. Māori continue to feature signficantly in mental health inequities, particularly during hapūtanga. Mai I Kurawaka was created as an accessible way for whānau to engage with pregnancy and birthing knowledge.

Interviews focus on whānau experiences and practices that informed their hapūtanga, the knowledge they drew on and their aspirations for their whānau. Some of the topics discussed include:

-Māori midwifery and traditional birthing practices

Connection between land and child (birthing on ancestral whenua, whenua ki te whenua)

-Pregnancy loss/ miscarriage

-Whāngai

-Assisted human reproduction: Male infertility and whānau sperm donation

Mai I Kurawaka provides a counter narrative to common representations of Maori pregnancy and birth. Host, Glen Paul Waru, says these representations have negatively impacted many Māori- especially fathers. Glen Paul Waru says "It’s time to start a new conversation. I’m tired of how Māori fathers like me are portrayed in mainstream media- it doesn’t reflect how I see me or the tāne in my life. Māori have always been expert story tellers and we had some big kōrero- male infertility, how we struggle to find our roles as fathers, depression. These aren’t easy topics, but they are important".

One of the hosts, Lizzie Strickett, says "In many ways, making this podcast was a selfish exercise. I was pregnant this time last year and really struggled to find our own stories of pregnancy and birth. It was my sisters who said "why don’t you just make a podcast?".

Chief Executive Officer of Hāpai Te Hauora, Selah Hart, acknowledges all of those who contributed their stories to this project, sharing their journey with hapūtanga and mental resilience, and acknowledged that this podcast was made possible via funding from Nōku Te Ao - Like Minds, Like Mine, with support from the Mental Health Foundation. Ms Hart is excited to launch the organisations first podcast, and hopes to bring more kaupapa to life through this portal.

Listeners can subscribe and listen to the podcast "Mai I Kurawaka" on Spotify, Apple Podcast or on the Google podcast app on Android. Check out our website page for all the details here.

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