Mamas in Lockdown / National Library of New Zealand (ePub)

Mamas in Lockdown is an emotional and inspiring collection of personal stories from over 70 parents who were pregnant or gave birth during lockdown.

Covid-19 has had a huge impact on the people of Aotearoa New Zealand, especially those having a baby. From giving birth without the support of a partner or chosen midwife, to having a home birth instead of a hospital birth - the changes have been unexpected and disconcerting for many.

While supporting families with breastfeeding during the lockdown period, it became very clear that parents needed to talk about what had happened.

Many hours were spent listening to parents, and Denise knew how therapeutic writing their stories had been for a couple of these mums. She put out a call for others, to see if they wanted to write their story to share in a book - and was inundated.

The process of writing these stories has been a cathartic and therapeutic process for many of the parents, allowing them to come to terms with their experiences during this difficult time.

Parents need to tell their stories, they deserve to be heard.

So many panicked questions. I immediately felt uneasy about bringing my precious baby into an uncertain world. Covid-19 was an extraordinary event, it truly brought the world to its knees and made us reflect on every single aspect of our lives.

I felt that my power and opportunity to choose my birth narrative had been taken away, I felt like I had no control over what would happen to my baby or my body and it was a scary prospect.

Thank you so much for doing this. I would never have taken the time to write my story down and it's helped me with dealing with my son's birth and what came with it.

Author, writer and advocate for mums, Denise Ives is a qualified Breastfeeding Counsellor, who trained with the NCT and University of Bedfordshire in England.

Denise and her family arrived in New Zealand in 2009 and found their new home on the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin. Once her family were settled at school and work, Denise started looking for ways to use her knowledge and experience to support families in her community. She spent some time with La Leche League as a Leader and then in 2011 founded The Breast Room®, a registered charity based in South Dunedin, New Zealand.