Te Papaioea Birthing Centre

Te Papaioea Birthing Centre For healthy pregnant women who don't expect medical intervention based in Palmerston North. The centre has a strong focus on post-natal care.

www.birthingcentre.co.nz

Te Papaioea Birthing Centre in Palmerston North is a primary birthing unit for women having low-risk births without intervention. Evidence consistently suggests that healthy women with a low-risk pregnancy who labour and deliver in a primary birthing facility have better outcomes for both mother and baby. Our philosophy is to offer that choice and support for women in the Manawatu who can give birth without intervention, with the support of her midwife. Pregnant women wanting to give birth at the centre must book in via their midwife. Midwives book in their mothers in the same way as they do at the hospital. Midwives must sign an access agreement to use the centre, and book women in by the 37th week of pregnancy. The service, which is run as a social enterprise by Birthing Centre, is free to all women who birth at the centre and are eligible for care in New Zealand hospitals, whose pregnancy is considered low-risk primary care. Birthing Centre operates Bethlehem Birthing Centre in Tauranga, and will soon open Melling Birthing Centre, servicing the wider Wellington region. A fourth birthing centre has been announced for South Auckland and is due to open in late 2018. Te Papaioea Birthing Centre employs a team of highly experienced midwives, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A qualified lactation consultant is available to support breastfeeding. Women who give birth at the centre will be able to stay for three nights’ post-natal care. Every mother at the facility has her own room, in which she will give
birth and also receive post-natal care. Birthing Centre is owned and supported by registered charitable trust the Wright Family Foundation.

18/11/2025
📌Kia ora koutou e te Whānau, unfortunately we have no Vaccinator onsite TODAY Wednesday 19 November or Thursday, 20 Nove...
18/11/2025

📌Kia ora koutou e te Whānau, unfortunately we have no Vaccinator onsite TODAY Wednesday 19 November or Thursday, 20 November at Te Rauru Antenatal Clinic, Te Papaioea Birthing Centre. Please visit us next Wednesday 19 November, 9.30 am - 3.30 pm instead or contact your GP for an alternative option

Night waking isn’t a problem to be fixed - it’s a natural, protective part of your baby's biology. Babies wake for food,...
17/11/2025

Night waking isn’t a problem to be fixed - it’s a natural, protective part of your baby's biology. Babies wake for food, comfort, closeness and reassurance. Their brains and bodies are still developing and these frequent wakings support safety, secure attachment, milk supply and healthy hormone balance.

Somewhere along the way, we've normalised “independent sleep” as the ideal, forgetting that human infants are biologically wired to need connection and proximity. They’re not poor sleepers - they’re beautifully human.

So, if your baby still wakes at night, know this: you’re not doing anything wrong. You’re responding to exactly what your baby needs🥰

16/11/2025

👶💜 MidCentral Maternity Stats – October 2025 💜👶

👶 158 pēpi born — 81 girls and 77 boys, including two sets of twins!
⚖️ Our smallest pēpi weighed 1,100g, and our largest weighed 4,875g – every one of them perfect in their own way.

🏥 Where pēpi were born:
• 134 at Palmerston North Regional Hospital
• 16 at Te Papaioea Birthing Unit
• 6 at Kōhungahunga Maternity Unit in Levin
• 2 at Tararua (Dannevirke) Community Hospital
• 4 pēpi born at home
• 0 pēpi born in transit 🚑
•
💜 Birth types:
• 92 Vaginal births
• 12 Assisted vaginal births (using instruments such as forceps or ventouse)
• 54 Caesarean sections
•
📅 Our busiest day of the month was 22 October, when our teams welcomed 11 pēpi in just 24 hours!

Ngā mihi nui to everyone involved in bringing new life safely into our world — we’re proud to serve our community with warmth, care, and aroha. 💜

16/11/2025

To all breastfeeding mamas within 50 kms of Palmerston North, this is a HUGE plea for donor milk. Monday 17 November is World Prematurity Day, and the theme this year is "Give preterm babies a strong start for a hopeful future". Whangai Ora Milk Bank is part of the strategy to do this, in providing safe donor human milk for these fragile babies. However this month our freezers are almost empty, and we only have milk for another week. If you have a stash of milk in your freezer that you can spare (even as little as 1 litre at this stage), or if you are willing to become a donor for a few weeks, please send a message, and we will explain how to proceed. Thank you!

💜
15/11/2025

💜

💜 World Prematurity Day – Morning Tea Invitation 💜 Because some babies just can't wait 9 months to meet their parents…

Join us as we come together to honour the tiniest fighters and the incredible families who’ve walked the journey of prematurity.

📅 Monday 17th November 🕙 10:00 AM 📍 Foyer outside the Neonatal Unit, MidCentral Hospital

This event is especially for families who’ve had a premature baby, but everyone is welcome to share in the love and support 💕

☕ Morning tea will be provided — you're welcome to bring something to share, but it's completely optional. No RSVP needed — just come along and connect with others who understand the journey.

Let’s celebrate strength, resilience, and the beautiful beginnings that happen a little earlier than expected 💜

If you were born after 1969 and haven’t had two doses of the MMR vaccine — or aren’t sure — now’s the time to get protec...
14/11/2025

If you were born after 1969 and haven’t had two doses of the MMR vaccine — or aren’t sure — now’s the time to get protected.
✅ Walk-ins welcome
✅ Free for everyone
✅ Protect yourself, your aiga, and your community

💉 Free Vaccination Clinic to protect your aiga against measles - every Tuesday
📍 Te Aroha Noa 14 Brentwood Avenue Palmerston North

Learn more: http://info.health.nz/MeaslesVaccine

12/11/2025
10/11/2025

Address

Ruahine Street
Palmerston North

Telephone

+6463508324

Website

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www.birthingcentre.co.nz Te Papaioea Birthing Centre in Palmerston North is a primary birthing unit for women having low-risk births without intervention. Evidence consistently suggests that healthy women with a low-risk pregnancy who labour and deliver in a primary birthing facility have better outcomes for both mother and baby. Our philosophy is to offer that choice and support for women in the Manawatū who can give birth without intervention, with the support of her midwife. Pregnant women wanting to give birth at the centre must book in via their midwife. Midwives book in their mothers in the same way as they do at the hospital. Midwives must sign an access agreement to use the centre, and book women in by the 37th week of pregnancy. The service is free to all women who birth at the centre and are eligible for care in New Zealand hospitals, whose pregnancy is considered low-risk primary care. Te Papaioea Birthing Centre employs a team of highly experienced midwives, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, along with nurses who have strong experience in postnatal care and lactation qualifications. Every mother at the facility has her own room, in which she gives birth and also receives postnatal care. Te Papaioea Birthing Centre was opened in 2017 by the Wright Family Foundation and is managed by MidCentral District Health Board.