He Tamariki Kokoti Tau: Families of Indigenous Infants Talk about Their Experiences of Preterm Birth and Neonatal Intensive Care

Anna Adcock, Fiona Cram, Liza Edmonds and Beverley Lawton
Additional contact information
Anna Adcock: (Ngāti Mutunga) Te Tātai Hauora o Hine Centre for Women’s Health Research, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
Fiona Cram: (Ngāti Pāhauwera) Katoa Ltd., Auckland 1143, New Zealand
Liza Edmonds: (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) Dunedin Hospital, Southern District Health Board, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
Beverley Lawton: (Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) Te Tātai Hauora o Hine Centre for Women’s Health Research, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6012, New Zealand

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-20

Abstract: M?ori (Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand) bear an unequal burden of poor perinatal health outcomes, including preterm birth. An infant arriving preterm disrupts the birth imaginary of wh?nau (family collectives) and situates them in a foreign health environment that may not be culturally safe and nurturing. A cross-sectional interpretative phenomenological analysis of first interviews with 19 wh?nau participating in a Kaupapa M?ori (by, with, for M?ori) qualitative longitudinal study of preterm birth identified themes from their experiences and the meanings they attributed to them. Preterm birth was an emotional roller coaster, with the birth imaginary and anticipated roles disrupted as health practitioners took over the care of their infants. Wh?nau expressed the desire to be close to their infants, holding them, loving them, nurturing them, and emplacing them within whakapapa (genealogy, continual layering of foundations) networks. When health practitioners or hospital policies inhibited this intimacy by isolating, excluding, or discriminating, wh?nau were frustrated. Being familiar with hospital routines, staff, peers, infant cares, and being wrapped in wider wh?nau support were key for wh?nau coping. Whakawhanaungatanga (processes of establishing relationships) create safe spaces for wh?nau to be themselves. This quietens the ‘storm’ and returns wh?nau to a sense of calm, through the reclamation of their environment.

Keywords: cultural competence or cultural safety; family collectives; indigenous health and well-being; Kaupapa M?ori Research; NICU; perinatal care; preterm or premature birth; wh?nau; maternal care; Family Centred Care (FCC); Family Integrated Care (FiCare) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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