Parents Centres New Zealand is a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, offering

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...

education,

parent A parent is a caregiver of the offspring in their own species. In humans, a parent is the caretaker of a child (where "child" refers to offspring, not necessarily age). A ''biological parent'' is a person whose gamete resulted in a child, a male t ...

education and support services. It was established in 1952.

History

Helen Brew Helen Jean Brew ( Butler; 22 November 1922 – 12 January 2013) was a New Zealand actor, birth campaigner, documentary filmmaker, educator and speech therapist for children. She developed a belief that most of Western society's dysfunction to its ...

, one of the founders of Parents Centre, had wanted a

natural birth Natural childbirth is childbirth without routine medical interventions, particularly anesthesia. Natural childbirth arose in opposition to the techno-medical model of childbirth that has recently gained popularity in industrialized societies. Natur ...

for her second child. Following her birth experience Helen Brew, together with

Christine Cole Catley Dame Christine McKelvie Cole Catley (née Bull; 19 December 1922 – 21 August 2011) was a New Zealand journalist, publisher and author. Career Christine McKelvie Bull was born in 1922 in Wellington, New Zealand. She grew up on a farm in Hunt ...

, went on to found the very first Parents Centre in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in 1952. The original name for Parents Centre was the Natural Child Birth Association, as an early focus was to empower women and men to understand more about the birthing process and how relaxation and

exercise Exercise is a body activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health and wellness. It is performed for various reasons, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardiovascular system, hone athletic ...

could contribute to a positive birthing experience. The organisation was renamed ‘Parents Centre’. One of Parents Centres' early achievements was successfully advocating for the father to be able to be present at the birth. Husbands had not been allowed to attend the birth, or often to even support their wives through the labour. Doctors Jim and Jane Ritchie, both key figures in developmental psychology in New Zealand, as well as active members of Wellington Parents Centre, were key advocates in this long struggle. The article prompted a flood of supportive letters to the newspaper and Parents Centre sponsored a meeting which drew 150 people. A protest was arranged, but it was another eight years of advocacy before Wellington hospitals allowed men to be present at births. Over the years which have followed there have been many achievements by Parents Centre; baby’s ‘rooming in’ with mothers after birth ; sick children in hospital having their parents stay with them; the removal of salt and sugar from baby food; the establishment of childbirth education classes and the rights of women to form their own birth plans. Today, Parents Centres New Zealand operates through over 50 Centres nationwide. The organisation continues to work for parents and children of New Zealand, including most recently tackling issues around the repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act, spearheading the Flexible Working Conditions bill and Corrections

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...

of babies in prison bill, tackling the sensitive issues around

child poverty Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It's estima ...

and poor health and running parenting programmes in 19 of the country’s prisons. Parents Centres continue run a wide range of parenting programmes, from childbirth education through to conscious parenting programmes for children up to the age of 6, and publish New Zealand’s longest running parenting magazine (established in 1954), ''Kiwiparent''.

References

External links

Parents Centres New Zealand
{{Authority control Charities based in New Zealand Medical and health organisations based in New Zealand Parenting skills organizations Organizations established in 1952 1952 establishments in New Zealand Natural childbirth organizations Child-related organisations in New Zealand

History

References

Further reading

External links