Changing the way we care: restoring Mana to Māori mothers through kaupapa Māori antenatal practice

Abstract Māori women in Aotearoa New Zealand continue to encounter maternity and early parenting systems shaped by surveillance-based practice, deficit assumptions, and the enduring impacts of colonisation. These structures contribute to mistrust, delayed antenatal engagement, and disproportionate child protection intervention. This study explores wāhine Māori experiences of Te Waiora, a Māori-led antenatal support model grounded in the HEAL framework (Honesty, Empowerment, Aspirations, Learning) and informed by Māori health models including Te Whare Tapa Whā and Te Wheke. Using a Kaupapa Māori qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants involved in Te Waiora in the Counties Manukau region. Fourteen participants contributed to the study: seven wāhine Māori, two midwives, two community health workers, one senior social work advocate, and two legal advocates. One wāhine Māori participant exited the study prior to completing data collection due to whānau matters. Data were analysed using a thematic approach informed by kaupapa Māori interpretive principles. Participants described increased trust in providers, strengthened antenatal engagement, reduced fear of statutory intervention, and sustained connection with their pēpi and whānau. These findings represent participant-reported experiences and perceived impacts rather than causal evidence of model effectiveness. The study contributes qualitative insight into how Indigenous-led, whānau-centred antenatal care is experienced as safer and more supportive than surveillance-based research maternity approaches and adds to the growing body of Indigenous maternal health scholarship. Definitions are informed by Māori health frameworks (Durie, 2001; Pere, 1991; Smith, 1999) and Te Waiora HEAL practice (Te Waiora, 2018).