Pasifika Futures complete wrap around support eases stress for new mother in MIQ
Via Pasifika Medical Association Group
Regardless of recent government announcements around changes with Alert Level restrictions for various regions, the demand from Pacific families for support continues to grow and so Pasifika Futures (PFL) - the Whanau Ora commissioning agency for Pacific families – will continue to respond to these needs.
One individual in need was a heavily pregnant 24-year-old Samoan woman, who was transferred into MIQ facilities with her partner and their two children, after being directly affected by a cluster in Auckland. This young mother has requested to stay anonymous but wanted to share her story of gratitude and encouragement for other mothers and young families.
“At first I wasn’t worried because there was still four weeks until my due date so I thought I’d be okay. We were in MIQ for two days before I needed to go to the hospital. That’s when I started to get a little bit scared. I was admitted into hospital on a Monday and gave birth on Tuesday morning.”
The young mum had given birth three weeks before her due date. After thorough checks and examinations, she was cleared to return to MIQ with her newborn child and join her family.
“They checked if we were healthy and checked with all the different teams to make sure it was safe enough for me and baby to go back into MIQ. I felt really lucky that we were able to go back into MIQ because I just really wanted to be with my family.”
Due to the unexpected birth, the young woman says she had gone into MIQ with no baby clothes and supplies.
“Giving birth was the last thing on my mind when I went into MIQ. When I came out of hospital I was thinking ‘oh no I have nothing for baby’ and got a bit worried.”
PFL, through their partner, The Fono, helped the young mother with essentials for her newborn when she went back into MIQ.
“They helped by providing us with stuff for my baby. It was such a huge relief because obviously I couldn’t go home to grab anything or have any family drop things off.”
The support continued throughout their quarantine to ensure they had the best experience possible given the circumstances they were in.
“We were always checked on with calls to our room and were offered welfare support. The help we got was for all of us.
My kids were starting to get sick of the food and I was worried they would start to act up, especially being stuck in a room all day. But we were given support for that and we even got games to keep them occupied. With my partner and I both in quarantine, we were receiving help in terms of our bills too. We also have a dog at home and he was being looked after as well.”
The young mum and her newborn baby are both healthy and doing well. She says the support made everything so much easier for her and her family.
“We were worried about leaving our house, the dog, our bills and it was a relief to receive support during that time. The support was so helpful and it took the stress away. It felt really good knowing we had that support and everyone was just so nice to us too.”
To date, PFL and their partners have supported approximately 27% of the total Pacific population which equates to the provision of 35,130 packages of support to 102,539 Pacific individuals.
Despite this large number, PFL ensure each individual or family receive appropriate and relevant support pursuant to their circumstances.