September & October Notices
Pregnancy Support
Finding a lead maternity carer (LMC) is a key step early in pregnancy, with many choosing a midwife, or sometimes an obstetrician, for their care.
Places to Give Birth
Across the Wellington region, whānau have several options for where to give birth depending on their needs and preferences. These include homebirth with a supporting midwife, primary maternity units at Kenepuru or Paraparaumu for those who do not require specialist intervention, and Hutt Hospital or Wellington Hospital where hospital and specialist maternity care is available. Your midwife can speak with you about your pregnancy, preferences and any clinical needs to help you choose the place that is right for you and your pēpi: https://www.wellington.pepeora.nz/taha-wairua#places_to_give_birth
Find Your Midwife
Find Your Midwife website, created by the New Zealand College of Midwives, makes it easy to search for a midwife that suits you. https://www.findyourmidwife.co.nz/
If you're still struggling to find a midwife, the hospital community midwifery teams can assist or provide care directly:
· Wellington, Porirua, Kāpiti: Call 0800 346 369 (0800 FIND MW)
· Hutt Valley: Call 0800 488 628 (0800 HUT MAT) or fill out the Wellington, Hutt, and Kapiti
or visit www.findamidwife.org.nz or Visit the Pēpe ora website link here
Pregnancy Support – Hapai Taumaha Hapūtanga
We offer free, confidential, and both emotionally and practically grounded care for women who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant or need support in their pregnancies.
Also, we offer support for pregnancy loss including abortion grief.
Cost: Free
Phone: 0800 004 277
Email: lowerhutt@crisispregnancysupport.org.nz
Hours: 8:30am - 5pm, Monday – Friday
Website: https://crisispregnancysupport.org.nz/ or Pēpe ora link
Te Awhi o te rito Hapū Wānanga
Te Awhi o te Rito Hapū Wānanga - A 2-day wānanga at Kōkiri Marae covering labour and birth, breastfeeding, pēpi care and safe sleep. Kai, transport and a wahakura are provided. Register online here call on: 04 939 4630
Cost: Free
Website: netmaori@kokiri-hauora.org.nz
Phone: 04 939 4630
Register: https://www.net-maori.org.nz/referrals/
Mental Health Support
Te Korowai Aroha Whanau Services
A whanau, family wrap around support service, i.e. social work, advocacy, mediation, counselling, bereavement counselling for youth, parents, couples, men, women and kaumatua.
Email: tari@tekorowai.org.nz
Phone: 04 237 9205
Website: https://north-city.co.nz/store/te-korowai-aroha-whanau-services/ or Pēpe ora link
Asian Family Services
Wellington Asian Mental Health Service (WAMHS) provides culturally responsive mental health support and gambling harm support for Asian communities across the Wellington region. Services include brief intervention, counselling, and community health navigation, helping individuals and families manage wellbeing, access appropriate support, and navigate New Zealand’s health and community services in a culturally safe and inclusive way.
Their services include face-to-face or online counselling sessions available nationwide with qualified professionals - counsellors, psychologists, social workers, and public health practitioners—who speak a range of Asian languages. Languages available include Mandarin, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, and English.
Address: Level 3, 39 Webb Street, Te Aro, Wellington (as well as, offices in Auckland and Christchurch)
Office hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm
Asian Helpline: Monday–Friday, 9am–8pm
Phone: 0800 862 342 - English, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese & Hindi
Email: help@asianfamilyservices.nz
Website: Asian Family Services
Facebook: Asian Family Services Facebook
Oasis Network
We provide services to people who self-identify as having experience of mental distress and/or illness. We also provide transitional housing for single men in Naenae and for single women in Upper Hutt who are facing homelessness. Oasis provides a safe and encouraging environment with wellness in mind to help people feel supported in a healthy environment.
Address: Level 1, Woburn House, 40–44 Bloomfield Terrace, Lower Hutt
Phone: 04 566 1601
Email: info@oasisnetwork.org.nz
Housing Navigator email: HN@oasisnetwork.org.nz
Naenae Men’s House: 027 555 0225
Upper Hutt Women’s House: 027 460 4796
Hours: Mon 9am–4pm | Tue 10am–4pm | Wed–Thu 9am–4pm | Fri 9am–3pm
Connect Groups
Spectrum Playgroup
Spectrum Playgroup provides families with pre-school children on the Autism spectrum and neurodiverse children the opportunity to connect with others. Parents and whānau can share their common experiences, support each other and enjoy a hot drink. We assist with more hands-on support for parents and children before, during and after diagnosis.
During school terms, 10am–11.30am:
Mondays: St David’s Anglican Church, 3 Seddon Street, Naenae, Lower Hutt
Fridays: Upper Hutt Baptist Church, 1 Milton Street, Trentham, Upper Hutt
Spectrum Playgroup is completely FREE and encourages play as the best tool for learning, with an environment set up to support each child’s success. Our team includes parent volunteers and staff from the Child Development Service (CDS), Hutt Hospital, who attend each week.
See page run by parents: https://www.facebook.com/asdplay/
Oasis Network
Oasis provides a safe, supportive environment focused on wellbeing, offering information and resources, client support and advocacy, education, support groups, transitional housing, goal planning and housing navigation. See September Newsletter for more programme details.
Weekly groups: Monday 10am: Craft Group | Tuesday 11am: Cooking Class | Wednesday 10am: Women’s Group | Thursday 10am: Men’s Group | Friday 11am: Realities Group
Address: Level 1, Woburn House, 40–44 Bloomfield Terrace, Lower Hutt
Phone: 04 566 1601
Email: info@oasisnetwork.org.nz
Housing Navigator email: HN@oasisnetwork.org.nz
September Newsletter Click here
He Ata Aloalo - Pasifika Caregiver Programme
Kupega o Moana is delivering He Ata Aloalo – Pasifika Caregiver Programme, a six-week programme supporting Pacific caregivers in both informal kinship whānau and formal care arrangements.
The first cohort starts this week, with 10 places available, so please share the attached flyer with any caregivers who may benefit and encourage them to get in touch.
Visit website: https://www.kupegaomoana.org.nz/heataaloalo
Youth
Young Parents Antenatal Course – Vibe | 24 and Under
Vibe is your Youth One Stop Shop (YOSS) in Te Awakairangi (the Hutt Valley). Providing a range of primary health and social support services, we’re here to support young people aged 10-24 years.
Our FREE Young Parents Antenatal course is available to any pregnant māmā 24 and under.
It is specific to our young parent(s) to be and offers knowledge and confidence around labour, birth and early postpartum and the information needed to make the best-informed decisions for themselves, baby and whānau. Our Antenatal courses are offered once a term at our Vibe Lower Hutt office and facilitated by certified birth educator Sarah Adams.
Term 4 dates, to be confirmed.
Contact details:
Phone: 04 566 0525
0800 CHAT2VIBE or 0800 24 28 28
Email: info@vibe.org.nz
Practical Support
Bellyful
Bellyful is a volunteer-led charity providing free meals to whānau with babies or children under 12 who are going through tough times such as illness, stress, isolation, pregnancy, miscarriage, or baby loss.
Support is for families without a support network, with meals delivered by local volunteers to help ease the load during challenging times.
Cost: Free
Visit: https://bellyful.org.nz/bellyful-branches/ or Pēpe Ora link
Greenstone Doors – Korowai House
We provide a positive experience for people in all matters connected with pregnancy and after childbirth, supporting families into a future full of hope.
Korowai House is a warm, nurturing space where mums and their pēpi can pause, reset, and reconnect. Based in the Wellington and Hutt Valley region, it is the only community based maternal mental health respite home of its kind, offering a safe place for healing, support, and genuine human connection. Here, women are gently supported to rebuild confidence, strengthen their wellbeing, and deepen the bond with their baby, all within an environment that feels more like a home than a service.
Please click the link below to view more information about Korowai House: https://heyzine.com/flip-book/a1df1fa1e2.html
Phone: 0210 806 0113
Email: office@greenstonedoors.co.nz
Website: https://www.greenstonedoors.co.nz/
Nest Collective
The Nest Collective is a registered charity that works alongside midwives, social workers, iwi organisations and other community partners to provide free packs of baby essentials for whānau in need. The Nest Collective gifts extensive packs of new, pre-loved, handcrafted and repurposed essentials including clothing, toys, nappies, bedding, books and more. Items are sourced through community and business donations (both physical and financial) and provided to families via social workers, kaiāwhina, midwives, nurses and other local community partners. Clean donations welcome at drop off locations across Wellington: https://thenestcollective.org.nz/locations/
If you need support with clothing, baby items and equipment including a safe sleeping space, speak to your midwife or Well Child Tamariki Ora nurse about them making a referral to The Nest Collective.
Cost: Free
Service area: Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, Kapiti
Visit: https://thenestcollective.org.nz/
Email: wellington@thenestcollective.org.nz
Well Homes
Well Homes supports families in the Wellington region to create warmer, drier, healthier homes. We provide home assessments, practical advice, and connect families to support like heating, ventilation, and insulation to improve health and well-being.
Apply online and our Well Homes administrator will contact you by phone to discuss your situation and link you with the most appropriate housing service:
https://www.tukotahi.org.nz/well-homes
Network opportunities, Information or Events
Breastfeeding Network
The Wellington Breastfeeding Network provides a valuable opportunity to whakawhanaungatanga, connect, share mahi, and discuss breastfeeding updates and initiatives. The next hui is tentatively planned for 4th November 2026 as a combined Wellington and Hutt gathering, with the date, time and venue to be confirmed.
For further information, please contact Clinical Midwife & Community Lactation Specialist Clare Harris Clare.Harris@ccdhb.org.nz
Safe Sleep
Why new messaging?
For over a decade, the P.E.P.E. framework guided safe sleep advice in Aotearoa. But whānau told us the messages often felt clinical, disconnected, and didn't reflect real-life experiences - especially for Māori whānau, pāpā, and wider whānau.
In 2025, Hāpai Te Hauora worked with whānau through regional wānanga, alongside researchers, midwives, Pacific health professionals and our Expert Advisory Group. Together, we developed new Foundations for Safe Sleep that are practical, judgement-free, and culturally grounded.
These foundations reflect whānau aspirations, affirm cultural identity, and put collective responsibility at the centre of keeping pēpi safe.
For more information on events, webinars visit the website her: https://sudinationalcoordination.co.nz
