May 08, 2024
Grim numbers behind Māori birthing story
Singer-songwriter Ria Hall says she was shocked by what she learned being part of a new documentary on kahu pōkai or Māori midwives.
Hall is one of many māmā-Maori kaikorero included in It Takes a Kāinga.
She says Māori māmā are twice as likely to die during pregnancy and 3-point-35 times more likely to commit suicide.
“It’s staggering enough to make you really internalise what the implications of not having support around māmā-Maori actually is. And so its understanding that, but also that there are amazing different groups and communities in the reaches of Aotearoa that are there to support our māmā,” Hall says.
She says the wellbeing of Māori is top of her agenda.