Maternal, perinatal and early parenthood mental health | Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
Changing Minds is supporting Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to understand experiences of community maternal mental health services in Auckland.
In June/July 2025, Changing Minds spoke to the Lived Experience community to understand the use of maternal and perinatal community services in Tāmaki Makaurau, the types of support accessed, barriers to access, cultural expectation and experiences, with a focus on acute experiences in the last three years.
Everyone who contributed to this mahi has our deepest gratitude. We hope that this report can now be used by you and your communities to guide change and strengthen our abilities to support each other.
“I think for me, I want what I share to improve things, to maintain funding.”
We heard wide ranging feedback from the community. Our key insights were:
Most people we spoke to didn’t access community services, despite the majority wanting to. We discuss barriers in the report.
Those who did access community services noted the sense of ‘luck’ that they were referred to services, most often by a Plunket nurse, who emerged as critical support navigators.
Feedback regarding community services was largely positive, however these experiences often didn’t fully meet the individual or whānau needs. These are discussed further in the report, but often centred on the timing of service offerings.
Do these findings resonate with you?
If you would like support from our Changing Minds whānau to use this knowledge in a way that is meaningful to your community, please let us know and we’re happy to help.