About this research
Project Summary
Waiū is a taonga and fundamental aspect of ūkaipō requiring protection and promotion as part of whānau ora. Most wāhine intend to breastfeed and achieve high rates of exclusive breastfeeding prior to leaving a maternity facility. However, this rate drops off dramatically by the time pēpi reaches 6 months of age, with less than 20% exclusively breastfed. Research has identified many challenges that hinder pēpi receiving breastmilk. However, there is still more work to identify effective breastfeeding support for Māori.
The development of the first Indigenous breastfeeding digital application Māmā Aroha during the COVID pandemic exemplifies Māori women at the forefront of developing innovative solutions to support whānau with breastfeeding. We reviewed the accessibility, usability, and content of the app. via kanohi ki te kanohi kōrero, and online and paper surveys, feedback was gathered from māmā, whānau and health professionals. Findings confirmed that for Māori, a holistic Kaupapa Māori approach to breastfeeding is central to healing from trauma and strengthening the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and practices. Results also confirmed that mobile health resources need to be accurate, free & easily accessible, be engaging and interactive, and practical.
The research recommends further promotion of the app, integration into local and national breastfeeding support and the creation of new interactive functions that enable whānau to self-determine their own health and wellbeing. This project grant implemented the recommendations to undertake phase 1 of updating the content of the app according to advice provided from the app developer.
Project Lead
Dr Angelique Reweti, Massey University
Māmā Aroha, the first Indigenous breastfeeding app, is being updated and enhanced to better support Māori whānau. Grounded in a Kaupapa Māori approach, this project explores how digital tools can uphold the whakapapa of waiū and strengthen intergenerational knowledge around breastfeeding.
Kairangahau · Researchers
Ētahi atu · Other projects
He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing. These groundbreaking works celebrate Māori futures rooted in kaupapa Māori values while fostering pathways for responsible relationships, meaningful lives, and flourishing Indigenous wellbeing economies. By emphasising the central role of whānau…
- Mana Touchstones
- Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōhanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Economies of Wellbeing
- He Rauhī Kupu
He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing
He oranga whānau: mahi ngātahi: Whānau livelihoods within the context of work and Māori economies of wellbeing. These groundbreaking works celebrate Māori futures rooted in kaupapa Māori values while fostering pathways for responsible relationships, meaningful lives, and flourishing Indigenous wellbeing economies. By emphasising the central role of whānau, these publications provide actionable insights and inspiration for transformative change in economic and cultural systems.
- Mana Touchstones
- Te Ahunga atu ki ngā Ōhanga Oranga Māori: Towards Māori Economies of Wellbeing
- He Rauhī Kupu
Kairangahau · Researchers
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Professor Chellie Spiller
Professor Chellie Spiller
Dr Chellie Spiller, of Matawhaiti Iwitea, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairoa, is Professor of Management and Leadership, and Associate Dean Māori at the University of Waikato. She was previously a senior lecturer and Associate Dean Māori and Pacific at the University of Auckland Business School. She has over 30 years of corporate experience in tourism, finance and marketing, holding senior executive positions in New Zealand and abroad, and brings this experience to her academic work and leadership and management development programmes. Her research explores how Māori and indigenous businesses create… -
Professor Jarrod Haar
Professor Jarrod Haar
Professor Jarrod Haar (PhD) is a Professor of Human Resource Management in the Department of Management and has tribal affiliations of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Mahuta. In 2018, Professor Haar was appointed as a Member of the Marsden Fund Council and is the Convenor of the Marsden Economics and Human Behavioural Sciences panel. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi (2020), a Research Fellow of the Australia & New Zealand Academy of Management (since 2012), and Chartered Fellow of the Human Resource Institute of New Zealand (HRINZ). He won the inaugural HRINZ HR… -
Dr John Reid
Dr John Reid
John is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury’s Ngai Tahu Research Centre. He is a specialist in leading and developing multi-disciplinary research and development programmes focused on addressing interrelated social, economic, and environmental problems. His research explores the way in which Indigenous and Western cultures shape identity, sense of place, and approaches to social and economic development. John's current research interests are focused on sustainable development within indigenous tribal communities and in fostering novel approaches to development through… -
Associate Professor Jason Paul Mika
Associate Professor Jason Paul Mika
Jason is Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Kahungunu. He is an associate professor at Te Raupapa Waikato Management School and Te Kotahi Research Institute, University of Waikato, in Hamilton, New Zealand. Jason’s research, teaching, writing, and practice centres on Indigenous business philosophy in multiple sites, sectors, and scales, including Indigenous trade, tourism, agribusiness, and the marine economy. In 2015, Jason completed a PhD in Māori entrepreneurship at Massey University. In 2019, Jason was a Fulbright-Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga senior scholar at Stanford University’s Woods… -
Dr Matthew Rout
Dr Matthew Rout
Matt works on indigenous socio-economic development and environmental sustainability initiatives and projects with a focus on applied outcomes through theoretical synthesis. He has a particular interest in how philosophical insights from ontology and epistemology can be used in practical ways to aid indigenous development. Indigenous and modernist ontology and epistemology Institutional economics Postcolonial psychology Settler colonisation Sustainable development
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