Birth Wisdom - Empowered and Home Birth in Golden Bay

07/06/2026

Kia ora koutou,

Reaching out to you to introduce ourselves as the new Birth Wisdom coordinator's Ash, Amy and Alissa.

As many of you will be aware, Alehsa has recently moved to Māpua and left her long standing volunteer role as Birth Wisdom Coordinator.

We have arranged for the next Birth Wisdom Hui to to be on Friday 26th June 2026 10.30-12.30pm - Held at the Co-Housing Common House.

This hui will mainly be a space for us to gather, connect and honour Alesha for all her beautiful mahi in this community surrounding the birth and postpartum support space, as well as her nearly 10+ years holding the Birth Wisdom kaupapa.

Please bring some kai or a beverage to share.

Invitation to bring a song, a story or creative offering of appreciation.

Looking forward to seeing you and your little people there,

Mauri ora,
Ash, Amy and Alissa x

08/05/2026

💖 Callie 💖

✨ Meet a Midwife ✨

Callie- Caseloading midwife, Golden Bay

“I remember the moment I knew I wanted to be a midwife: I was 23, newly pregnant (not quite on purpose) and I did what the doctor told me to do: I arranged an appointment with a midwife. By the end of that first appointment, I knew that one day, I wanted to do what she was doing.

I went on to have a stillborn baby boy, and then three more healthy and well baby boys who were born at home. Ten weeks after my fourth birth, I started midwifery school.

I now work as a midwife in Golden Bay– a beautiful and remote corner of New Zealand, where the hospital is two hours away and there is one winding road in and out. It is often closed for roadworks and sometimes cut off by landslides. The geography of this area shapes our lives in the Bay, and has a huge impact on the way I work.

I provide midwifery care from conception to 6 weeks post-birth and I am constantly surprised by women’s power in pregnancy and birth. I get to know women, with spacious antenatal appointments often in their homes. I also get to know their older children, their dogs, and where the toilet is in their house.

I am thrilled to be a midwife– and my favourite part is that I’m woven into the fabric of my community, playing music at the market on Saturday morning, at a homebirth at 3am, surrounded by inspiring people in a beautiful setting.”

📷 Photo caption: playing with my bluegrass band at the Saturday Market in Takaka

05/04/2026

Warm autumn greetings sweet friends.
I hope the sun is shining on you, your garden and your little ones faces.

Our next gathering is Friday 17th, second week of the school holidays for those of us in that rhythm.
All welcome to my whare, 10:30 - 12:30. (PM for address).
Please bring some morning tea to share, I'll have some hot drinks brewing.

In other good news, we are going to receive a grant from Home Birth Aotearoa and I have a great idea of what to purchase with it to add to our community home birthing equipment. More details to come!

I have also been given a good quality breast pump that needs a new home, so reach out if you could make use of it.

With care,
Alesha

🫖💙🍂☔

10/03/2026

Kia ora dear ones,

March is a rather busy month for me and I won't be able to host a gathering.

Let's save the date for a beautiful catch up in April. Friday 17th. I'll send an update closer to the time. (Join our email list [email protected])

For now, please reach out if you have a desire to host the April gathering, or if you feel inspired to bless us with your birth story share. Otherwise I am happy to host of course.

Please reach out if you want to get any books out of our library any time, can arrange to drop in. And we have the pools and hot water heater available for hire.
As the GB midwives have their own pools now, ours are not being hired much at all, so I'm happy to make them freely available if anyone has a need for them. It's better than having them sitting around unused I feel, as they are lovely, quality items.

Much love to you all dear families of Golden Bay. Take care of each other.

See you soon.
Alesha 💙

24/02/2026

04/02/2026

Kia ora e te whānau,

You are warmly invited to our first gathering for 2026:
Friday 20th of February
Alesha's whare (PM for address details)
10:30am - 12:30pm

Please bring some kai to share for morning tea if you can, no stress.
I'll have some hot drinks and home brewed booch available.

Our library of books is available for loan as are our birth pools, sacred birthing kit and hot water heater (when they are returned from an imminent birth, yay!).

All welcome. My home is small and kids are definitely welcome though it is a good idea to bring some activities for them.

I hope it's sunny so we can circle in the garden. Please bring a picnic blanket for this potentiality.

If anyone would like to share their birth story, please let me know. And please RSVP if you can, I find it builds the energy.

With love and kindness,

Alesha.

13/11/2025

💙What and who is Birth Wisdom? 💙
The Birth Wisdom- Empowered and Home Birth in Golden Bay community is here to share knowledge and support local whānau to achieve empowered pregnancy, birth, and postnatal experiences. We are a voluntary, grass roots community group, made up of those in the community that get involved. We welcome attendance from anyone of interest and those with knowledge or experiences to share.
Our aim is to provide support to our midwives and national body, Home Birth Aotearoa, to ensure that the women of Aotearoa can make the choices they need to feel empowered during their birth experiences, including ensuring home birth remains an accessible option for all whānau.
We meet once per month for cups of tea and chats, and sometimes deeper sharing circles. You can borrow books from our awesome library for free and we offer a professional birth pool hire service and Sacred Birthing Kit.
If you wish to get involved or hire a birth pool, join our mailing list where invites are mailed 📩 [email protected]

12/11/2025

Kia ora koutou,

Our next and final gathering for 2025 will be on Friday November 21st from 10:30-12:30 in Hamama. All are welcome!

Birth Wisdom meets on the 3rd Friday of each month, as a space to connect with others about our journeys in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
Babies and little people are welcome in the space, as are partners, and wider family members.
Please bring some kai to share for morning tea if you can. Hot drinks provided.

Please PM for address details or email [email protected] to sign up to our personal invite list.

Ngā mihi mahana,
Alesha 🩵

31/10/2025

📖 A new book for our Birth Wisdom community library 📚 Free to borrow and open to donations of you're having a clear out 📖

27/08/2025

Now free to view, with special thanks to producer and midwife, Sarah, for sharing it with us 🩵
“For me, the inspiration from the start was to create a resource that resonates closely for hapū whānau of Aotearoa, supporting them to better understand home birth as an option. It feels very exciting to finally have this to share with you all – please share it far and wide.”
– Sarah Dow

Home Birth Documentary This special and beautiful documentary celebrates the magic of birthing at home and explores the experiences, challenges, and power of home birthing in New Zealand, highlighting personal stories and expert insights to encourage informed discussion about place of birth options....