CANCELLED-Hawkes Bay's AnnualMum's, Bub's & Dad's Wellness E

The Mum’s, Bub’s, & Dad’s Wellness Expo we want to be a community event where parents, parents to be or individuals planning to have a family can go and get information and advice to help them to make the right decisions for their family. As well as information and advice on their own parental health (Physical and/or Mental Health).

At the expo we will have all sort of health professionals attending from midwives to pelvic health specialists to public health services like Tamariki Ora as well as community groups like Mommies Matter. Under neath the expo we will be running seminars on things such as car seat safety, baby immunisation, and baby blues vs post natal depression (PND) and run also free group counselling sessions for post natal mum's and dads as well as run a free group counselling session for teen moms.

Now, Dad's are important to and we have a special dad's corner where they too can go and ask questions and get advise just for them.

Most of our health services are spread out wide and thin due to the lack of resources and under staffing which is mainly due to the lack of funding as our national health budget just does not have enough to cover the health needs of all New Zealanders. The reason for the Expo is to have all the health resources in one place which offers our community new parents or parents to be with all the necessary resources and information they need to help make the right decision for their upcoming or newly arrived newborn. But not just for the newborn’s health but also for the parents as well, as their own health is just as important as of that of their newborn.

For example, 20% of mom’s to be will suffer some form of Post Natal Depression (PND), of those 20%, 75% of those women who suffer from PND will end up NOT being able to receive the help and support they need as the resources and funding in the public health sector is not available.

Through my own experience with my wife and our newborn, we were going from place to place seeing this health professional and that health professional. After our daughter was born my wife came down with serious PND and we were struggling (still are) to get the help my wife needed. This was not available, that was not available, waiting list for this, waiting list for that. It was adding more emotional stress and pressure on my wife. Along the way on our journey we met many many more families who were/are going through the same things we are and I don't want to see this happening to other families. So I am wanting to try and make a change for the future, to assist, educate and help those families that are suffering.

This expo will also serve as a further fundraiser to raise money which will be put back into our community to help PND sufferers male & female by helping cover a subsidized cost to their counseling as well as help fund counselling groups session already existent to keep them going, and to create a better wellness program for PND suffers.