Māori midwives say a workforce strategy is desperately needed as the number of midwives fails to keep up with rising Māori birth rates.
There has been no Māori midwifery recruitment strategy for the last two decades, and only 9 percent of all midwives are Māori, despite Māori babies making up over 20 percent of those born every year.
In some areas there are few midwives at all - let alone Māori ones - and those who are practicing have waitlists of up to five months and are having to turn down whānau. Meriana Johnsen reports.
