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The futures of some Plunket Family Centres around the country may be in the balance as the credit crunch causes extra problems for the cash-strapped organisation.
The 21 centres are a lifeline for sleep-deprived new mums struggling to settle, feed or care for their babies.
But with limited government grants and a reliance on community fundraising, many are reassessing their services.
The problem is particularly acute in Auckland City where one or more of the centres in Meadowbank, Mt Eden and Ponsonby could be closed.
Area manager Stephanie Shennan said there was a chance all three could be shut to make way for a super centre.
No decision had been made, but the results of a seven-month review were only "weeks away".
Shennan said they were committed to continuing the service and "any changes would be to improve it".
Any overhaul would be an attempt to make the service available to a larger number of people, rather than "servicing a very small number of people very well".
But some mothers say access to help has already decreased, with Wednesday drop-in sessions at the three central Auckland centres cut six months ago and operating days reduced.
Opening days at the Meadowbank centre have been reduced from four to one, according to Meadowbank Plunket Committee member Nicola Reid. She said the cutbacks had seen waiting lists for appointments grow to two weeks, leaving some mums in tears.
"By two weeks the problem will be so huge it's taken control of you," she said.
"You are chucked out of hospital with a baby just hours old and at home with no help and a husband who has to go back to work. And now this service is being affected."
She said one mother had given up breastfeeding her seven-week-old baby because she couldn't get help soon enough.
"I've had to stop talking about the family centre because people can't get in. Or I tell women to say they are desperate [so they] get in."
Plunket general manager of operations Jenny Prince said the Ministry of Health fully funded Plunket Well Child services, including regular "milestone" checks. That grant increased by $2.9m this year.
Family centres, which dealt with 9500 consultations last year, were part-funded by the ministry but relied heavily on donations.
There is some good news on the horizon for Plunket, with the Government expected to announce plans to fully reinstate previously scrapped Plunketline.
LONG WAIT
Auckland city Plunket manager Stephanie Shennan said it was "rare" for mums to wait weeks for an appointment at family centres but several clients disagreed.
Catherine Brown, whose baby Leo is 13 weeks old, said she waited a week for an appointment at the Meadowbank centre and two friends had to wait even longer. Brown said the service was crucial because her mother had died and her husband's family lived in the South Island. "The historical part of Plunket is so rich and it's sad to be losing that."
Irish-born Penny Mark, whose baby Isla is 12 weeks old, has no family in Auckland and says she had to wait a week for an appointment. "It was wonderful to go to the family centre - you see other mums and so you feel like you're not the only one struggling." Jo Angell, had to wait a fortnight for help with "urgent" breastfeeding issues with her son Jack, now seven months old.
