This week marks Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week in Aotearoa — a chance to spotlight the wellbeing of those navigating pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. While the week aims to reduce stigma and spark important kōrero, it also brings to light the uncomfortable truth: our system is not doing enough to care for māmās when they need it most.
We know that bringing a baby into the world can be one of the most transformative — and vulnerable — times in a person’s life. But for too many parents in Aotearoa, that transformation is marred by anxiety, depression, and a lack of accessible support.
The Reality for Parents in NZ
An estimated 12–18% of birthing parents in New Zealand experience perinatal mental health challenges such as depression or anxiety. For partners, the rate sits around 10%. These conditions can develop during pregnancy or in the first year postpartum — a time already fuelled by sleep deprivation, hormonal changes, identity shifts, and constant demands.
But here’s the most heartbreaking stat: Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death in Aotearoa. Between 2006 and 2017, suicide accounted for 45% of maternal deaths within the first 42 days after birth. That’s a staggering figure — and it only reflects the small window we currently track. International evidence shows the risk of suicide can remain high up to a year postpartum, meaning the true scale here in NZ may be far greater.
These aren’t just numbers. They’re lives — wāhine, whānau, and pēpi caught in the gaps of an overstretched system.
The Support Gap
So, what’s going wrong?
It’s not that healthcare professionals don’t care. Midwives, GPs, nurses, and specialists are often working under enormous pressure with limited resources. The issue is that many parents seeking help are falling through the cracks.
Specialist Maternal Mental Health Services (MMHS) are available in many regions — but they’re chronically under-resourced. Long waitlists, strict eligibility criteria, and patchy regional coverage mean some parents are told they’re “not severe enough” to qualify for help. Others don’t even know such services exist.
The gold standard internationally is to have specialist Mother-Baby Units (MBUs) — hospital spaces where māmā can receive mental health care without being separated from their pēpi. New Zealand has only two of these for a population that sees around 60,000 births each year. For comparison, the UK recommends one unit for every 15,000 births.
Put simply: the demand far outweighs the supply.
What Can Be Done?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but here’s what experts, advocates, and families across the country agree on:
More funding for Maternal Mental Health Services
Services need to be better staffed, better resourced, and more accessible — especially for rural and underserved communities.
Increased investment in Mother-Baby Units
Parents deserve care that keeps them with their babies in a safe, supportive environment — not general psychiatric wards.
Earlier and broader screening
Education around perinatal mental health should start during pregnancy, with routine check-ins for both parents in the months following birth.
Culturally safe, inclusive care
Māori wāhine are over three times more likely to die by suicide in the perinatal period. Our systems need to be actively anti-racist and inclusive of diverse cultural understandings of hauora.
For the Māmās Reading This
If you’re in the thick of it, feeling low, anxious, overwhelmed or just not right, please know: you are not alone — and it is absolutely okay to ask for help.
Mental health challenges don’t make you a bad parent. They don’t mean you’re broken. They mean you’re human.
Support might look like medication. It might look like therapy. It might look like a cuppa and kōrero with someone who gets it. All of it is valid. All of it matters.
Where to Get Help
Here are some trusted places to start:
- PlunketLine – call 0800 933 922 or text 1737 (24/7)
- Mother’s Helpers 0800 002 717
- Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Aotearoa (PADA) (+64) 04 461 6318
- Post Natal Distress Support Network Trust: 09 8464978 (great Auckland area only)
- 1737, Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor
- Anxiety New Zealand – 0800 ANXIETY (0800 269 4389)
- APP – Action on Postpartum Psychosis – The charity for mums and families affected by postpartum psychosis
And if you’re currently pregnant, take this as a gentle nudge: set up your support network now. Whether it’s your partner, your whānau, a friend or a postnatal doula — having a village around you can make all the difference when things get hard.
We need more than awareness weeks — we need action, funding, and real change. But while we wait for the system to catch up, let’s keep doing what we can at ground level: checking in on each other, talking openly, and reminding every parent out there that their wellbeing matters.
You matter, mama.
Always.