PADA Educator presents in Tairāwhiti | Gisborne February 2021

Recently, Liora Noy, PADA Educator, enjoyed being part of a very welcoming group of health service providers in Tairāwhiti Gisborne, including Plunket, Māori service providers and one support worker from Supergrans! She reported that they had some great conversations on the topic of Māori Maternal Mental Health. Between 50-60% of the families they see are Māori and it was discussed about the use of screening tools not rightly reflecting the high rates of postnatal depression. Many families will rarely disclose what they are going through which does not offer an accurate view.

Another substantial topic of discussion was referrals for people suffering from mild to moderate symptoms, and the one with severe PND have a wait list of up to 6-8 weeks and the group brainstormed solutions to this problem.

The attendees fed back that Liora’s discussion gives them positive affirmation of what they are already doing on a daily basis, and in addition gave them some tools that will help them support mums better, given the constraints of the lack of time and pressures they have, and lots were taking notes from Liora’s talk. Positive feedback was received from both tauiwi and Māori organisations, affirming that PADA strives to improve the health outcomes for all mothers and whānau in Aotearoa.