Mountain Midwives

17/01/2026

17/01/2026

*Whenua — The Placenta & the Land** 🌱
At **Mountain Midwives**, we love honouring the deep wisdom held in birth traditions — especially the significance of the **placenta**.

In **te ao Māori**, the word *whenua* means **both placenta and land**. This reflects the understanding that, just like the earth, the placenta is a **giver of life**. Traditionally, the whenua and *pito* (umbilical cord) are returned to the land — often buried in a place of importance to the whānau — creating a lifelong connection between pēpi, whakapapa, and Papatūānuku. Many whānau plant a tree over the whenua as a symbol of growth, belonging, and tūrangawaewae (a place to stand).

🌍 **Did you know? Placenta traditions exist all over the world:**

• In **Hmong culture**, the placenta is seen as the baby’s first “jacket.”

• In **Hawaiian tradition**, the placenta may be planted with a tree so the child grows alongside it.

• In parts of **Asia**, placentas are buried to protect health and wellbeing.

• Many Indigenous cultures view the placenta as a **spiritual guardian**, not medical waste.

✨ However you choose to honour your placenta — through culture, ritual, or personal meaning — it’s a powerful way to acknowledge the journey of birth and new life.

We’re here to support whānau in making choices that feel right for them 🤍

09/01/2026

Hi everyone! 👋
I’m so excited to introduce myself officially as the newest midwife joining the Mountain Midwives team 🤍

My name is Kaitlin, and I’m passionate about supporting wāhine and whānau through pregnancy, birth and the postnatal journey with calm, continuity and genuine care. I love building strong, trusting relationships and supporting families to feel informed, empowered and held every step of the way.

I feel incredibly grateful to be joining such a supportive, values-aligned team and to be working within this beautiful community. I can’t wait to meet you and walk alongside you on this journey.

Thanks for the warm welcome, Mountain Midwives 🌄✨

Kaitlin X

Kia ora I'm Kaitlin, I’m a registered midwife who is passionate about providing continuity of care and walking alongside women and their whānau through preg

22/12/2025

Hello wonderful Mums4Mums Community! Here are our updated OFFERINGS & GROUPS over Christmas and the Summer Holidays!

Please note our Coffee Group and Drop In Sessons are now on Hiatus and will return from 6th January...

Walking Wednesday is holding a Christmas Eve Walk in Frankton this Wednesday and will some time off. We are planning to return as of 4th February. We are currently looking for volunteers to help out - please get in touch if you are interested and able to. Thanks to everyone who has been in contact, we will be in touch after Christmas :)

If you need support during the holidays, feel free to message us or call the number provided. We will be checking our messages frequently. Stay safe and have a wonderful Summer!

03/12/2025

02/12/2025

Announcement from the Central Lakes Family Service:

The Early Motherhood Circle - A Gathering for Mama and Pepi (8 Week Program) will commence in February, each school term. Definitely worth attending!

27/11/2025

Breastmilk vs microbes

19/11/2025

We have a few spots available for our Infant CPR and Choking course, which is offered free of charge. To reserve your spot, please contact tanya.moffat@plunket.org.nz.

19/11/2025

18/11/2025

Can I drink alcohol and breastfeed? No harmful effects to babies have been reported from drinking no more than one drink a day. Our evidence-based article on Drinking Alcohol and Breastfeeding answers many questions you may have.

Alcohol is present in a woman’s milk at the same level as in her blood: it rises and falls along with it. If you know your blood alcohol level, you know your milk alcohol level. Alcohol passes freely into breastmilk and has been found to peak about 30 to 60 minutes after consumption, 60 to 90 minutes when drunk with food.

Alcohol also freely passes out of breastmilk so there is rarely need to express milk and throw it away. If the alcohol has gone from her blood, it will have gone from the milk. It takes a 63.5kg woman about two to three hours to eliminate the alcohol in one serving of beer or wine from her body; the more alcohol that is consumed, the longer it takes for it to be eliminated. For example, if the same woman had four drinks, it would take nine to ten hours for her breastmilk to contain no alcohol.

https://laleche.org.uk/alcohol-and-breastfeeding/
https://llli.org/breastfeeding-info/alcohol/
Many thanks to # for the graphic