First trimester

It’s a big decision for your birth journey because your midwife will be your key health professional through your pregnancy, labour and birth and during those early weeks of motherhood.  

Over 100 Waikato midwives are registered as lead maternity carers (LMCs) on the Find your midwife website.  Or you may want to ask friends and relatives.

• For women who live in rural areas there fewer local midwives to choose from, so start looking as early as possible.
• You can contact and talk to a few LMC midwives before you make your decision to select your midwife. 
• You can change your LMC midwife at any point during your pregnancy.
• It’s important that you find an LMC midwife that you are comfortable with.

Useful links

The New Zealand College of Midwives have outlined what to look for in a midwife. 

The Ministry of Health also has good information on choosing a lead maternity carer and questions to ask to help you choose your midwife.

Some suggestions from other mums - things to think about

• If you have a particular birth centre in mind or would like to birth at Waikato Hospital – does your midwife have an “access agreement” with that facility? An access agreement means that the midwife can access that facility with her client for labour birth and postnatal care. 
• Would you like to explore having a home birth – does the midwife you have selected provide home birth care?
• Midwives also have holidays, family commitments and time away. You may want to ask if your midwife has any planned time away near your due date. You may also want to ask who is your midwife’s partner /back up is? If you can meet them / talk to them? How they can be contacted if your midwife is not available? Because this person may provide care for you at some stage, for example your antenatal appointments, visit you after the birth or possibly be involved in your labour and birth care.
• Talk to the midwife you have chosen about antenatal visits and postnatal care. Particularly home visits in the postnatal period if you live in a rural area.
• If you have an induction of labour or require an epidural, ask your midwife is she will be involved in your care for these processes. Ask your midwife if she will be with you for your labour and birth sharing your care with the hospital team or if she will transfer your care to the hospital team.  Some LMC midwives hold certification to monitor and care for you in labour at Waikato Hospital if you need additional pain relief such as epidural or if you need to be induced (labour started in hospital). You may want to ask your midwife if they hold this particular certification if they do it means that they will provide your care during labour and help you deliver your baby.

LMC midwives in New Zealand are contracted by the Ministry of Health to provide the following services: 

• Explain to you about their role as midwife and the services you will receive
• Provide you with details of their “back up” midwife should they not be available for your antenatal care, labour birth or postnatal care.
• The provision of appropriate information and education about screening, and offer referral for the appropriate screening tests.
• Give you information about the availability of pregnancy and parenting education.
• Document a care plan to be used and updated throughout the pregnancy.
• Inform you of your options for place of birth and place of postnatal stay after the birth.
• Monitor progress of pregnancy for you and your baby, including early detection and management of any problems.
• Management of your birth, and all maternity care until two hours after delivery.
• Postnatal care is from birth to 28-42 days after the birth, including:
  • a daily visit while you receive inpatient postnatal care, unless otherwise agreed by you  and the maternity facility, and
  • between 5 and 10 home visits, with a minimum of seven total visits (and more if clinically needed) including one home visit within 24 hours of discharge from a maternity facility.

The New Zealand College of Midwives page for women has information about midwives and the role of Lead Maternity Carers 

Pregnancy is a unique time in which your body changes to meet the needs of your growing baby. Your body must store nutrients and increase the amount of blood and other fluids it makes.

Every woman will gain a different amount of weight dependent on her size at the start of pregnancy.

• Talk to your midwife about what is your recommended weight gain and how you can monitor your weight. 
• Talk to your midwife if you are concerned about your weight gain. 

While there is no exact healthy weight gain, thin women may need to gain more weight and overweight women less.

You can expect to eat more food as the pregnancy progresses, but this does not mean that you need to ‘eat for two’.  A good appetite and a steady weight gain, especially after the first 3 months, will usually mean that you are eating enough

• You can’t always get everything that you and your baby need from food - read about folic acid and iodine tablets and how to get enough vitamin D.
• Find out how much weight you should gain during your pregnancy - this poster sets out the basic information [PDF, 448 KB].

Find out more about being active and eating healthily during pregnancy on the excellent Ministry of Health Pregnancy web pages.

Green Prescription in Waikato

You can contact the Sport Waikato Active and Well team to get a Green Prescription. 

• A programe to help pregnant women keep active and healthy during pregnancy.
• Free and lasts between 3-6 months.

To enrol on this programme or find out more contact the Active & Well team

Phone: 0800 22 84 83

Website: www.sportwaikato.org.nz/programmes/active-and-well/green-prescription

Sometimes also called:

• childbirth education,
• antenatal classes
• Hapu Wananga classes (Kaupapa Māori pregnancy and parenting programme)
• Tapuaki (Pacific pregnancy and parenting education)

Your midwife will give you information about pregnancy, giving birth and afterwards,  but attending pregnancy and parenting education can help you to learn more.  You’ll also meet other pregnant women, and many people in these groups become friends during these classes and go on to have regular catch-ups.

You can take your partner, support persons, relatives and whānau to pregnancy and parenting education.

The information below gives an overview of all the pregnancy and parenting education courses available in the Waikato. Some course are a full day, some over a weekend, others are held in the evening over a number of weeks. It depends what course that suits you. 

Free classes provided by organsations contracted by Waikato District Health Board: 

Parents Centre

Provide free pregnancy and parenting classes where parents to be can meet other expectant parents, be informed about  the exciting and complex pregnancy period, become equipped to have positive birth experiences and enabling you to begin your parenting journey feeling informed and confident.  Find out more about Parents Centre. Contact details for its local centres are listed below.

Whitianga 
Kyra van de Wetering 
Phone 07 862 6928 
Mobile: 021 269 2232 (feel free to txt if you would like a call back)
Email kyra.cbe@gmail.com

Thames  
Kyra van de Wetering 
Phone 07 862 6928 
Mobile: 021 269 2232 (feel free to txt if you would like a call back) 
Email kyra.cbe@gmail.com

Morrinsville
Email morrinsville@parentscentre.org.nz  

Putaruru
Phone Jan 07 883 7229
Email putaruru@parentscentre.org.nz

Otorohanga
Phone 07 873 1565
Email otorohanga@parentscentre.org.nz

Cambridge 
Phone 021 022 19687 
Email cambridge@parentscentre.org.nz  

Plunket

Plunket provides a Free Pregnancy and Parenting Education (PPE) programme. This programme is for all parents. The focus is to support first time parents’ by providing a range of information and facilitation of discussions around pregnancy and childbirth, and parenting of their newborn baby. We encourage enrolment for a course as soon as your pregnancy has been confirmed.
The classes take place in Hamilton and Matamata.
Ring 07 839 3982 for more information about when the classes are held.

South Waikato Pacific Islands Community Services

Tokoroa-based classes
Phone 07 886 0010
Website: www.swpics.org.nz  

Hapu Wananga classes

Hapu Wananga classes are open to all pregnant women both Māori and non-Māori and their families. The courses are free and held at:

• Te Awamutu - Te Awamutu Birthing
• Huntly - Huntly Birth Care
• Hamilton - River Ridge East Birthing Facility
• Taumarunui - Marero Marae

Find out more and make a booking

The following organisations / groups also provide pregnancy and parenting education.
These courses are not funded by Waikato DHB and there may be a cost to attend one of these classes.  

Te Awamutu Birthing

• Hosts a pregnancy and parenting course over two Sunday sessions.
• The cost of the course is $60 and there is a course running every month. 
  Contact Te Awamutu Birthing Birthing on 07 8715052 for more information and to book.

Waterford birthing facility (Hamilton)

• Hosts a pregnancy and parenting course over 6 weeks in the evening.
• The cost of the course is $80 (partners and support people included). 

Contact: website 
Phone: 07 839-0281 for more information and to book.

Maternal Journey (Hamilton)

• Hosted at River Ridge East Primary birthing facility.
• A six week evening antenatal course 7 – 9pm course fee $150 (partners and support people included).
• One day weekend antenatal course 10am – 4pm course fee $150 (partners and support people included).

Contact: website 
Phone: Simone DeGiorgio 021 269 8871 or 07 855 9349
Email simone@maternaljourney.co.nz  for more information and to book.

Waikato Home Birth Association (Hamilton)

Natural birth series – First and third Monday of the month 6pm – 7.30pm.
Parents Place Boundary Road.
$5 koha per couple or free to Waikato Home Birth Association members.
Hear positive natural birth stories told by local families and discuss topics to prepare for birth and early parenting. 
Contact via their facebook page.

It’s important to try and stop smoking as early as possible in your pregnancy, but it’s never too late to quit for your baby at any stage in pregnancy. 

Smoking during pregnancy affects your baby and can cause health problems such as

• a low birth weight that could be harmful.
• an increased risk of pneumonia, asthma or glue ear. 
• increased risk of your baby dying suddenly in their sleep.
• a risk of losing your baby (miscarriage or stillbirth).

You can get some great support - there are phone, text and face-to-face services available to help you to quit smoking. 

The biggest incentive is the health of your baby - but you will also save a lot of money.

Once and for all - Stop smoking programme for Waikato people

Quitting smoking is easier when you have support.  Waikato's stop smoking service is called "Once and for All". Their stop smoking support person will give you help and advice.

• You will set a quit date with them and they will support you on a weekly basis,
• You will be given nicotine replacement therapy to help you with your craving/withdrawal symptoms
• If you are pregnant and still smokefree four weeks after your quit date, you receive up to $300 in vouchers!
• If you partner or whānau stop smoking with you they will receive $50 if they are still smokefree following their quit date. 

Phone: 0800 6623 4255
Website:  www.onceandforall.co.nz  

Alternatively, you can use the national Quitline on 0800 778 778 to get support to quit smoking.