A new maternity centre opened its doors in Taupo this morning.
Awhi Midwives opened on the ground floor of the White House located at 66 Paora Hapi Street.
It was co-founded by lead maternity carers Jo Toma and Toni Postlewaite in 2013. The midwives have been providing midwifery services in Taupo from their previous location on Laughton Street. This year Ashlea Millar joined and will operate out of the White House along with Ms Toma and Ms Postlewaite.
They decided to move to the larger space at the White House in order to provide expectant mothers and their families with a centrally located facility closer to Taupo's central business district.
"This new space will provide maternity services and a range of wrap-around support services including parenting advice, breastfeeding support, smoking cessation, immunisations, healthy eating, maternal mental health services, birth control and a drop in breastfeeding sanctuary for young mothers while they are in town," they said.
In February 2014 they founded Awhi House in Turangi to address a range of maternity health issues experienced by young mothers in the township, and increase early engagement with maternity services.
