Kowhaiwhai Orange Header

Mothercraft

Home ›... About us › A-Z of services › Children's Health › Mothercraft
About us

Mothercraft

Mothercraft provides a five day programme of 24-hour support and education Monday-Friday for parents and their babies who may be experiencing issues such as feeding difficulties, reflux, very unsettled/irritable babies, infant colic, poor weight gain and/ or sleep issues.

We work closely alongside and in negotiation with the caregiver and family to develop a plan of care to meet individual needs.

We cater for infants from birth up to approximately 1 year of age.

Usually admission is with one primary parent/caregiver. We are flexible with visiting hours and welcome other family and whanau to be part of the education offered during your admission.

Mothercraft has qualified and very experienced nurses who work with you. The service is also supported by; paediatric medical staff, social workers, dietitians, perinatal maternal mental health and home care nurses. Lactation consultant services will be available depending on availability.

It is part of the Children's Health service, and the Women's and Children's Health directorate.

Location

27 Tisdall Terrace, Hamilton  
Lower level of Waterford Birthcentre.

Entrance is located by the carpark. There are only 2 carparks available - local mums will be asked to be dropped off.

Contact

Phone: 07 839 8899 ext 96550

Once we have received your referral, we will triage your referral and offer you and your baby a bed as soon as possible. We will then contact you to arrange a week that is suitable for you. Admission on Monday morning and discharge on Friday morning.

Your care

Once admitted your nurse will assess your baby's history and discuss with you what your goals for admission are to develop a plan of care with you.  Often the first 24 hours is an assessment period of what is happening for you and your baby, the nurses will negotiate with you any changes required for the plan of care.

Please bring all medication for you and the baby.

Staying with us

You will have your own room with a single bed and a cot or basinet. 

There is a shared bathroom, kitchen facilities, lounge, and dining area.  

Meals

Breakfast is provided for you to help yourself to. You may wish to bring your own snacks or baby food which can be labelled and stored in fridge or freezer if required. When we arrange admission we will check for any dietary restrictions or allergies and discuss options with you.

Laundry facilities

There are no laundry facilities available so please ensure you pack adequate supplies.

  • If you are bottle feeding please bring bottles, bottle brush, formula or frozen/fresh breast milk
  • Nappies 
  • Baby wipes
  • Toiletries including baby products if using any
  • Your own pillow if you prefer
  • Breastfeeding pillow if using one
  • Prescribed medication for you and your baby
  • Well child book

We have a breast pump in case you need to express and can support you with this.

We can supply containers to store breast milk and have a separate fridge for storing breast milk.

We can support nasogastric tube or gastrostomy feeding, we do have supplies if you require but ask that you bring your own equipment such as syringes, feeding set and feeding pump if using one.

We provide sterilising equipment such as microwave sterilisers and storage containers required for any feeding equipment.

We have all necessary baby equipment such as prams, buggy, baby bath and toys

All linen is provided including bedding for the basinet or cot, we practice in accordance with safe sleep principals for your baby.

Reasons for referral may include assistance with feeding and sleep management of babies, issues such as wakeful crying babies, very unsettled/irritable, infant colic, poor weight gain and reflux; and for the parent/caregiver issues such as exhaustion, post-natal depression and anxiety. 

Families from the Waikato DHB region can be referred by either a general practitioner (GP), Paediatrician, Plunket nurse/Well Child health nurse, Midwife, Maternal Mental Health, or a support agency involved in their care.

Mothercraft also takes clients from the Midland Health, for which a Paediatrician or DHB Mental Health referral is required.

All referrals go through the Regional Referral Centre at Waikato DHB.  The mother/caregiver’s and baby's details are required. There is a time delay of approximately 3-5 days before the referral is received in Mothercraft. The referral is then triaged.