Source: E Tipu e Rea Whānau Services
Kaupapa Māori organisation E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services recognises the number of teenage birth rates have halved in the last decade, however would like to highlight that Māori and Pacific māmā are still disproportionately represented in this statistic. It is imperative that our statistics are viewed with an intersectional lens to ensure that we are still providing tautoko to those who need it most.
There are many intersectional factors to consider when we look at the teenage pregnancy rates and one of them is ethnicity. While the rates have decreased considerably and this is positive, we still see the number of Māori and Pacific māmā who are hapū is higher than non-Māori.
E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services CEO Zoe Hawke explains why it is so important to have an intersectional approach to our health statistics, “We need to be digging deeper into the stats because we must ensure the tautoko is there for young Māori and Pacific parents. Alongside this we must be able to resource our young whānau appropriately so we can ensure the best long term health outcomes for whānau and not let them slip through the cracks because we are patting ourselves on the back for decreasing statistical numbers. When we consider other health outcomes such as maternal mental health and suicide for young Māori māmā we can see the dire need for the continual tautoko of our social services and healthcare systems”.
As an organisation E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services support young whānau every day and we see the discrimination that still exists within all parts of society. Not only are teenage māmā isolated but they are discriminated against in all parts of their lives including institutionally. We hope that with the sharing of these new statistics which are positive, we do not forget that there were still over a thousand teenagers who were hapū last year and became māmā and require our tautoko, the majority of whom were Māori and Pacific.
