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Issue 1 – November/December 2014
Welcome to the first Waikato Hapu Mama
Smokefree pregnancies newsletter.
The Waikato has a high rate of smoking during
pregnancy. Around 50% of pregnant Maori women
in the Waikato smoke. There is so much more that
we can and must do to remove tobacco from the
lives of our people. Smoking is the single largest
contributor to death and illness for Māori. And I
doubt that there would be many whānau who
haven’t lost someone close to them due to smoking.
Our urupa (cemeteries) all across Aotearoa are full
of our people who have died before their time due
to tobacco. This is a professional issue, but it is also
a very personal one. Someone once said to me:
“don’t you just hate smokers!” My response was
“no I don’t hate smokers. Many of my whānau
smoke. I do hate the tobacco industry and the
poison they peddle to our people.”
Smoking rates for pregnant Maori women are
shocking. We must get these women and their
whānau the support they need to stop smoking.
I don’t believe that health sector has got anywhere
near to exhausting all of the options available to
provide the support these wahine require. There is
so much more that we can and must do.
Smokers are heavily addicted and most want to quit.
It’s our job to support and enable that desire to
become a reality.
Hapu Mama Smoke Free Pregnancies is part of the
Maternity Quality Safety Programme and is a
partnership between Māori Health, maternity
services, Population Health and community stop
smoking providers. Our vision is that every woman
get excellent high quality support for a smokefree
pregnancy and motherhood.
Ditre Tamatea
GM Māori Health Waikato DHB
In this edition:
Call to Action on Maternal Smoking
Training and briefing sessions –
don’t miss out
LMC Health Target: Reducing Maternal Smoking
–
results are amazing, we are doing really well!
Tupeka Kora Framework –
Smokefree
Maternity Services
Smokefree pregnancies incentive pilot –
off to a
great start
Bulk orders of NRT –
possibilities
Waikato taking action
on maternal smoking
New Zealand’s high rate of
smoking during pregnancy
is a public health
emergency, says Waikato
District Health Board
public health physician
Nina Scott.
Dr Scott, who works with Waikato DHB’s Maori
Health Service Te Puna Oranga, says the time has
come to put some serious effort in to addressing
maternal smoking.
Midwife and Waikato’s Smokefree Pregnancy
Leadership Team member Heather Sears said
women and their families need better support to
help them stop smoking.
“Health professionals need to provide support in a
consistent and high quality way,” she said.
“Evidence shows that ectopic pregnancy, increase in
maternal heart rate and blood pressure,
spontaneous abortion, placental insufficiency, low
birth weight babies, preterm delivery, Sudden
Unexplained Death in Infancy, childhood respiratory
disease and retarded brain development including
Attention Deficit Disorder are linked to smoking
during pregnancy.” (continued..)
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