Kapiti Midwife - Toni Strand

15/04/2026

We've been telling the story wrong for decades. You've probably heard it: millions of s***m racing toward an egg, fighting, competing, the strongest one winning. It's dramatic. It's how biology textbooks described it. But it's not actually what happens.

Recent studies from reproductive biologists have revealed something completely different. The egg isn't passive. It's actively choosing. Scientists discovered that eggs release chemical signals that attract certain s***m while repelling others. The egg is doing the selecting. Not the s***m.

Think about what this means. Your existence wasn't determined by a brutal competition. It was determined by a choice. An egg looked at millions of options and selected one specific s***m. Out of all the possibilities, that particular combination was chosen.

This isn't just about biology. It reframes how we think about our own beginning. You weren't the winner of a ruthless race. You were selected. Picked. There's something profoundly different about those two narratives, even if the outcome is the same.

The egg has agency. The egg has preferences. The egg has power. And that power shaped who you are before you were even a thought. Next time you hear the old story about s***m racing, you'll know better. Your story started with a choice, not a competition.

15/04/2026

09/04/2026

Birth is designed to work.

When a woman feels safe, private, and free from unnecessary interruption, her body releases the exact hormones needed to support labour and birth
guiding her instinctively through each stage.

Many wāhine/whānau who choose homebirth do so because they trust this process. They prepare deeply, physically, mentally, and emotionally, and take responsibility for their choices.

For some, this choice comes after experiences or stories that didn’t feel aligned. Others simply feel called to birth in a space that honours privacy, intuition, and flow.

Hospitals absolutely have their place especially when birth becomes complex or high-risk.
But for many healthy women, the environment itself can interrupt the natural rhythm of birth, sometimes leading to a cascade of interventions.

The goal isn’t “home vs hospital.”
The goal is protecting the conditions where birth hormones can do their job.

✨ Quiet
✨ Warm
✨ Dim
✨ Safe
✨ Undisturbed

Because birth, like love, works best when the thinking mind softens… and the body leads.

Ngā mihi for being here, learning, and exploring with us 🤍

03/04/2026

So true!

Homebirth is a safe and evidence-based option for many low-risk women.

Research shows that when women plan to birth at home, they are more likely to experience a spontaneous vaginal birth, with fewer interventions along the way.

A familiar space, trusted support, and the ability to move freely all play a role in how birth unfolds.

For healthy pregnancies, outcomes for babies are comparable to hospital birth.

Having access to clear, balanced information helps women and whānau choose what feels right for them.

Informed, supported, and respected — that’s what every birth deserves.

Beautiful homebirth mumma: Lia Shirkey .maree 📸

01/04/2026

Such an important read!! Have faith in yourself, your Pēpi and physiological birth. ❤️❤️

18/03/2026

19/02/2026

When midwives are by women's side through pregnancy and birth, health outcomes improve & women are happier with their care. They are more likely to have:

👩🏻 Positive birth experiences
💕 More natural births
✂️ Fewer medical interventions

To improve the health of mums & babies, WHO urges countries to invest in lifesaving midwifery models of care.

bit.ly/4kShgEQ

17/01/2026

08/12/2025

Sooo true! Skin to skin can often regulate a raised heart and resp rate soon after birth…much nicer than a trip to NICU

There is NO incubator, resuscitaire, warmed cot, doctor or midwife that can do what a mother's chest can......

Early skin-to-skin contact:
✨Helps babies to learn to latch and suckle at the breast.
✨Increases prolactin levels and milk production.
✨Increases the likelihood of exclusive breastfeeding at and after discharge, and the length of the breastfeeding relationship.
✨Stabilises babies physiologically
✨Keeps baby’s warm through thermoregulation and “thermal synchrony”. A mothers chest temperature is around 3 degrees higher than their partners and the temperature l rises and falls depending on baby’s temperature 🤯
✨Kick starts their immune system

Skin to skin beyond the newborn period is a valuable parenting tool throughout infancy and into toddlerhood:
✨Enhances parents confidence, responsiveness and connectedness
✨Reduces the risk of post partum depression
✨Decreases anxiety and increases confidence in dads and non-birth partners
✨Calms babies and toddlers
✨Essential for babies optimal brain development and growth, laying down neural pathways

For premature infants in SCBU or NICU skin-to-skin can be life saving. Also known as "Kangaroo Care", this practice of prolonged skin to skin reduces the risk of death, infection, and low body temperature, while also improving weight gain and breastfeeding rates.

Mothers are quite simply ✨M A G I C✨

Lactation Nurse

www.thelactationnurse.co.uk

15/09/2025

05/05/2025

💕Mother’s Day is this Sunday and we at Home Birth Kapiti want to acknowledge all the mums and special someone’s that are in our wonderful community💕

We have a small giveaway which includes coffee vouchers, a t-shirt and some other small goodies

We encourage you to like, follow, share our page and tag in that special someone you’d like to say thank you to.

Shout out to Vintage Village Cafe for donating the coffee vouchers. We appreciate you giving back to our community 🫶

01/05/2025

So worth the watch even if you’re not planking a home birth 🙌🏻

This is "Home Birth Documentary" by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.