Jade van der Hoorn - Midwife

02/08/2025

Another incredible birth story support by one of Manaaki Midwives Lizz!

Absolutely love seeing all these come through and sharing the wide range of experiences for expecting whanau! 💚🙏

01/08/2025

This couldn't be more true ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B4GfAqL5D/

I saw a post recently about how a woman wondered if her midwife thought about her too.

And we do.

I think about you all, all of the time. In joy and sadness.

I have all of your cards. I look at them when I need to remember why I do this.

I cry to songs that remind me of witnessing you meet your baby after losing their sibling the year before.

I smile at the tattoos on my arms that remind me of the conversations I’ve had with you about them in labour. “That one makes me feel safe, because I know you care about your job” are words I always think about when I look at the midwife tattoo I have on my arm.

I cry when I hear the songs they played at your funeral 💜

I still laugh thinking about the time you gave me your p*e in a Dorito dip jar.

I pierced my other nostril because it looked cool on you!

I laugh to myself thinking about you flicking me the middle finger when I asked you to change position in labour.

I remember the joy in your face when you finally met your longed for baby after so many losses.

I remember crying along with you when you cried that your dad wouldn’t meet your baby.

I think about being one of so few people who got to meet your baby when they died. I think about your baby a lot. I remember all their names.

I think about you when I see space buns.

I remember how tightly you held my hand as they put you under general anaesthetic.

I feel proud when I remember you birthing your baby in your home after seeing how nervous you were to tell me you wanted a homebirth (and the relief when I replied “wahay”).

I remember to butter the toast to the edges because you said dry corners were “evil”.

I remember the look on your face when I walked into your birthing room “is that my midwife?!”

I think about you when the country you had to flee from is on the news.

I think about how proud I am that you managed to get clean.

I think about how brave you were to tell me that you didn’t feel safe at home.

I think about how much I liked your dog.

I think about the look on your face mid emergency when you knew I had you.

And I feel so lucky that I get to walk through all these journeys with you all. Through the joy and the sorrow. There is no greater privilege than being a midwife.

Thank you for letting me be part of it all. I don’t mind if you don’t remember my name, but I remember you ❤️

28/07/2025

Update - lower hutt afterhours has moved!
📍 See below post for info.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16z7VsdBmj/

NEW HUTT VALLEY AFTER-HOURS PHARMACY IN OPERATION

The Lower Hutt Urgent Pharmacy on High Street will be closing down today, 28 July.

From 29 July, an after-hours pharmacy service will be available at Connolly Street Pharmacy, which is located on the ground floor of the Verve building, under the relocated After Hours Medical Centre.

Connolley Street Pharmacy will be open 8.30am-10pm Monday to Sunday including public holidays.

24/07/2025

The birth of Aria - Shared by Sasha and whānau with consent! Supported by one of our Manaaki Midwives Lizz Burgess - Midwife 💚✨

"My birth story is one I can't share enough! As an A-type personality (i.e. control freak) I was surprisingly calm in the lead up to giving birth of my first child. Attending antenatal had prepared me for all types of interventions, and I decided to have no 'plan' other than birth in the hospital. I had listened to only one podcast on Hypnobirthing as preparation which did actually come in handy when it came to pushing (but more on that later). Lizz my midwife had also been a constant support since I was 6 weeks pregnant so she knew me well and had created a sense of security and stability leading up to birth.

My waters broke the morning after my due date and contractions started pretty quickly and were roughly 3 minutes apart from the outset. I spent early labour at home and then went to the hospital once the pain had me crying out for gas which certainly wasn't at home. Several hours later and only 2cms more dilated I made the call to have an epidural. I had heard stories about the anaesthetist taking ages or it not working but this was done super quick and successfully which meant I finally had relief and could take in my surroundings and the experience of what was happening. So much so I put my eye mask on had a nap while my partner watched the Warriors (yes, they won).

After a blissful, calm few hours of chats and monitoring, I was fully dilated and ready to push. I did end up having the Doctor and support team rush in due to the baby's heart rate dropping and also the head not being positioned quite right so there was talk of suction cups, forceps and worse case C-section. But Lizz and the student midwife Sharna made the busy room and possibilities seem normal and calm. On push one I utilised 'down breathing' and had a room full cheers and positive encouragement and I was determined to do this on my own. With my partner coaching me and telling me I could 'give a bit more' I pushed only a few more times, even having the opportunity to touch my baby's head coming out which was such a surreal experience. In only 24 minutes I met my precious daughter Aria! Even better was I had no internal tearing so I had a great postpartum recovery.

A huge part of my positive birth experience was down to Lizz and our student midwife Sharna being there for over 24 hours, seeing me through active labour and recovery. Both their calm and constant presence meant I could ask questions, get reassurance, and meaningful care. From surrendering to whatever would be, I ended up with the most perfect birth and a beautiful surprise of a girl at the end of it!"

We love hearing your birth stories, if you've had a birth experience with any of the Midwives at Manaaki Midwives you'd love to share please get in touch! 🌻

23/07/2025

Check out Wainuiomata and Waterloo upcoming playgroup, Just pop in have a coffee an catch up with other like-minded parents! 😊

ℹ️ See posters for time and dates below! ✨

10/07/2025

💚✨ The birth of Laekin, Shared with consent from Jaymee - A late diagnosis of pre-eclampsia followed by Misoprostol Induction ✨💚

It all started on Wednesday 27th November, I had attended my 39 week appointment with Jade as normal. Unfortunately during this appointment we discovered my blood pressure had crept up and I needed to head to the hospital for monitoring. I went home, packed a bag and me and my partner headed to the hospital about 6pm to meet with Jade, I was diagnosed that evening with Pre Eclampsia and was given options for induction! The following day is when a plan was made for me to be induced, Friday 29th November - the doctors came and did their rounds and advised they were starting my induction using Misoprostal (oral medication), I had a dose every 2 hours up until 11pm that evening. Unfortunately no pains or any sign baby was making his arrival, fast forward to Saturday 30th November 8am is where things started happening after my first dose of misoprostal for the day. I lost my mucus plus and pains were slowly starting, these progressed over the course of the day. I walked the hospital, did figure 8’s on the Swiss ball and rested to fill in time and ease the pain. I tried to put up with the pain as long as I could but it was all in my back and getting quite intense, I believe it was around 8-9pm where I asked for an epidural and was about 4cms dilated. The anaesthetist came and gave me my epidural and after my waters were broken, I reached 5 cms about midnight where Jade came in and took over from the hospital midwives. We chatted inbetween me sleeping while my partner slept in the fold out chair beside me the whole process felt very relaxed! After a little sleep and an amazing epidural I’d reached 8cms by about 4am. 8am rolls round and I’m 10cms, it’s time to push! I hadn’t had much sleep the night before and was already exhausted so that wasn’t a great start, what felt like about 5 hours of pushing was actually only about an hour and 15 minutes. Jade could see I was struggling, so she had a great idea to use a towel to pretty much tug of war to help me push. I would not have got him out without Jade’s help, I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere with my pushing and felt like giving up so many times because I was so tired. She gave me the encouragement and knowledge on how to move forward, I truly could not have done it without her.

Our son Laekin Piripi makes his arrival at 9.27am, the most magical feeling I’ve ever felt having him on my chest!

Jade made the process so effortless as she whisked around the room to make sure myself, dad and baby are algood along with giving the most exceptional care to our newborn beautiful boy with all his checks in his first moments of life. The team of midwives who followed at Hutt Hospital were also exceptional, I am so thankful for all these lovely ladies. But most importantly Jade who cared for me for a full 9 months of pregnancy and then helped me have such an amazing birth! 💚

02/07/2025

💚✨ The birth of Elowyn, Shared by Erin an whānau with consent - An augmentation story following A 3- day latent labour ✨💚

As a first time Mum, I was a little apprehensive about what to expect with my little girl's birth, but was excited to meet her. I was definitely in the 'go with the flow' camp with my approach to her birth.

After around 3 days of contractions coming and going, Jade (who was backup for Lizz on the weekend) came with me into the hospital to do some checks on baby. Her heart rate had some periods of dropping, so I was given some IV fluids, and Jade popped my waters. Because of the length of time my body had been trying to start labour, I was given some morphine to get some rest, in the hopes it would help kick start labour.

I stayed overnight in the hospital, and as nothing had progressed I was induced using Misoprostal the next morning. Once things kicked in, labour progressed fast!

As I had been induced, I had to be hooked up to the monitors. Labouring on my back was hard, and Lizz offered to put a monitor on baby's head to allow me to stand for a while. Once this was placed, I stood up, and babies heartrate dropped. I was placed back on the bed, and Lizz calmly told us that she was needing to hit the emergency button, and that there would be lots of people coming into the room. They moved me around on the bed until they were able to get babies heartrate back to normal.

In a blink of an eye, it was then time to push. Lizz coached me through, and after 16 minutes of pushing, she was here! She had her cord wrapped around her neck twice, which Lizz was able to quickly fix. She was having a bit of trouble with her breathing, and her colour stayed purple, so the emergency button was pushed again. People rushed in, and were able to help my little one get in a good breath. The sounds of her crying were music to my ears!

My beautiful baby girl was born with just over an hour of active labour. The pain was intense, and we had some little frights throughout, but the calming presence of Lizz made me feel safe throughout the process. I couldn't have done it without her 💜

Lizz Burgess - Midwife

25/06/2025

💚💚 The birth of Baylee Rain, Shared with consent from Briar an whanau around her successful VBAC 💚💚

I gave birth to my first Daughter in 2015 naturally so fast forward 8 years later I just assumed my 2nd birth would be the same but it was most definitely not. I had a planned home birth that went terribly wrong and after almost 24 hours of labour and getting to 10cm, trying to push but baby’s heart rate dropping, we decided to do an “emergency” C-section as my Son was stuck and there was no way he was coming out naturally. Unfortunately the epidural AND spinal block didn’t work so I was put under general anaesthetic. I didn’t get to meet my baby untill a few hours later and that’s a pain I can never put into words. To make things worse, my midwife at the time left, my partner couldn’t be there and I was left in the hands of strangers at the most vulnerable moment of my life. Liz happened to be our student midwife at the time and did the most beautiful thing and held my hand as I got put to sleep. She took photos of my son coming out since I couldn’t witness it myself which I will never forget.

The experience left me shattered. I was robbed of the moment I had longed for. It wasn’t just disappointment, it was deep grief that I never fully healed from. Fast forward 1 year later, we’re expecting again and I knew this pregnancy and birth was going different. From the very beginning, I was determined to have a VBAC and I knew I wanted Jade or Liz to be my midwife.(Jade did a post natal for me with my son and she sat with me for almost 2 hours and talked to me about my future options, listened to my trauma and was just amazing).

Throughout my pregnancy I was so worried about the what ifs and so nervous/scared for labour but every single visit Jade reassured me this is a different pregnancy and baby and drilled it into my head that I can do it and I WILL do it. I finally surrendered to the fear. I knew my body could do this, and I was ready to trust it again, this time surrounded by the right people and I did it 😍

Baylee’s birth was everything I had hoped for and more. I had a stretch and sweep the Thursday and she stretched me to 3cm, contractions started Saturday morning, Jade came and checked me at 12:30pm and said I was 6-7cm (which was incredible as I was perfectly fine and not even in pain), we went to the hospital to get things going as my waters were bulging through my cervix, my contractions had slowed down heaps so I went for a walk and then at about 2:30-3pm she broke my waters to hopefully sp*ed things up and from then it went from 1-100 REAL quick. I started pushing at 4:13pm and baby girl was born at 4:28pm 😍 My body did what I always knew it could. It was intense, raw, powerful… and the most magical healing experience EVER.

I was supported every step of the way by the most incredible birth team. Jade was an absolute angel and someone who I will thank forever. Liz was once again by my side, holding me just like she had 2 years ago, but this time she got to witness a completely different ending. And the student midwife Britney was nothing short of amazing and captured the most beautiful and incredible video that I will cherish FOREVER. Jade guided my partner and talked him through how to catch our Daughter and he did exactly that and it was so beautiful 😭😭

I’m so proud of what I achieved. Giving birth to my girl was not only the most empowering experience of my life, it was the moment I finally began to heal from the trauma of my past and I have these 3 ladies to thank for that 🫶🏼

Lizz Burgess - Midwife

23/06/2025

Have you had a birth experience with one of the Midwives from Manaaki Midwives and would be interested in sharing your birth story with others? I am interested in starting a birth story sharing posts through our Facebook to help empower other expecting whanau..

If this is something that interests you please flick Jade a email we'd love to hear from you!
Jadevdhmidwife@gmail.com

- J ✨💜

13/06/2025

Upcoming weekend antenatal classes. ⤵️

https://www.facebook.com/share/16LAsffdJ5/

We are running two weekends Antenatal classes for this month of June on the 14th and 21st from 9.30am to 4pm.
Venue is 2 Dudley Street, Hutt Central.
We provide morning tea and afternoon tea.
If you are pregnant and haven't been to antenatal classes before, enroll with us at Kupega o Moana website or message us here for more information.