A New Zealand collective for perinatal mental wellbeing
Te Hokinga Mai is a New Zealand collective for perinatal mental wellbeing, founded on indigenous views of wellbeing. "Te Hokinga Mai" in Māori means "returning home—to place, to people, and to one's roots—with strong undertones of reconnection, healing, and collective belonging." Their vision is Te Hokinga Mai, returning to collective care where every whānau (family) thrives. Their purpose is to amplify māmā (mother) and birthing parent aspirations for collective wellbeing. They do this through three streams of work: collectivising, demonstrating impact and influencing for change.
The Te Hokinga Mai collective is currently made up of community organisations, people and professionals that āwhina (support) māmā, birthing parents and whānau (family) of all ages, and all cultures in Aotearoa (New Zealand). They believe every whānau has the right to create their own self-determined papakāinga (village / community). Their collective is an interconnected fleet of waka (boats) that uplifts each papakāinga to flourish.
Te Hokinga Mai shares the Global Alliance for Maternal Mental Health (GAMMH)'s values of collective action towards improved perinatal mental health. As members of GAMMH, they are a source of inspiration because of their localised approach to perinatal mental health advocacy and their prioritisation of lived experience voices. They are working towards shifting decision-making toward whānau-led solutions of wellbeing and care, and they are guided by māmā and birthing parent aspirations
GAMMH's collaboration with Te Hokinga Mai will continue to flourish as we share knowledge and uplift communities.