June 07, 2022
Māori culture boosts breastfeeding duration
New research has found wāhine Māori with greater connections with te ao Māori are more likely to exclusively breastfeed their babies for the recommended six months.
Co-author Catherine Gilchrist from the University of Auckland says the study recently published in the New Zealand Medical Journal drew on information from more than a thousand Māori women participating in the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal study of child development.
It identified factors that would affect breastfeeding, including how mothers felt about returning to work, and incidence of maternal depression during pregnancy, and support from whanau, employers and society.
While 96 percent of Maori mothers start breastfeeding, just 12 percent were still doing so at 6 months – and the cultural connection was a factor.
“One of the things that’s really important to recognise is that breastfeeding is fundamental to tikanga Maori so that connection to te ao Maori gives a connection to all part of the world including breastfeeding which is the natural way to feed your pepe,” Dr Gilchrist says.
The study findings can inform interventions to protect, promote and support Māori women to exclusively breastfeed their babies.