Āhurutia Te Rito | It takes a village

It’s long been understood that a good start in life is important, but now a growing body of research demonstrates how significant parental mental health in particular is to long-term family and whānau wellbeing. Mental distress during the perinatal period (from the beginning of pregnancy until a year after birth) can have severe long-term consequences, not only for parents in distress, but also for their babies. This report analyses what contributes to perinatal distress in Aotearoa New Zealand and identifies opportunities and policy levers to better support new parents and their babies.

You can download a summary of our policy recommendations here, or an accessible version of this summary report here.

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Latest Media

• RNZ: Post natal depression: symptoms and strategies (August, 2023).
• NZ Herald: Maternal suicide: Leading cause of deaths of pregnant women, new mothers, report reveals (April, 2022).
• Newshub: Maternal suicide: New report calls for more to be done to combat suicide rate among pregnant women and new mothers (April, 2022).
• Stuff: Suicide leading cause of death during pregnancy for wāhine Māori (April, 2022).
• Newstalk ZB: 'This cannot go on': Revealed - The biggest killer of pregnant women and new mums (April, 2022).
• Newshub: Calls mount for urgent action over shocking rates of maternal mental health issues (April, 2022).
• Today FM: New report reveals suicide as leading cause of death during and after pregnancy (April, 2022).
• Radio New Zealand: High rate of suicide in pregnant and post-natal women (April, 2022).
• Māori Television: 'Appalling' statistics mean desperate need to prioritise wāhine Māori maternal mental health - Selah Hart (April, 2022).
• Newshub: Shocking maternal mental health statistics revealed (April, 2022).
• Newshub: Newshub Nation April 30, 2022 (April, 2022).
• NZ City: Suggestions discrimination and stigma are contributing to mental distress for young Maori mothers (April, 2022).
• 1 News: 'I felt scared' - Māmā shares perinatal depression experience (May, 2022).
• The Spinoff: Mothers are being sidelined in the conversation about maternal mental illness (May, 2022).
• Newsroom: Let’s prioritise perinatal mental wellbeing (May, 2022).
• The Spinoff: Perinatal mental health ignored for years (May, 2022).
• Newshub: Perinatal distress can affect children and non-birthing parents - psychiatrist (April, 2022).
• Waatea News: Suicide risk heightened in pregnancy (May, 2022).
• Newsroom: Let’s prioritise perinatal mental wellbeing (May, 2022).
• 1 News: Maternal suicide: How do we reduce our 'sobering' rates? (April, 2022).
• Northland Age: Normalising postnatal distress necessary (May, 2022).
• The Press: wouldn’t be here today’: Mum’s call for more maternal mental health support (July, 2024).