Vicki Culling Associates

This week is Birth Trauma Awareness Week. Birth Trauma Aotearoa reminds us to keep our own needs in mind and step away from social media if we need to. Baby loss is part of the birth trauma experience, and while we often love every opportunity to talk about our much loved, and so very much missed, babies - thinking about the circumstances of their death might not be something we want to focus on. Go gently, and for those supporting bereaved whānau, please wrap them in aroha this week

A second, and important, piece of news that was announced at yesterday's stillbirth registration launch - out of a $20 million allocation for maternal mental health, $5 million is dedicated to the mental health needs of bereaved whānau ...

“Budget 2026 invests $5 million to go further and support implementation of the mental health components of the new pathway. It will ensure parents and families experiencing pregnancy or baby loss have faster access to mental health support.

This funding will ensure bereaved parents receive coordinated support that matches their needs. Families who need mental health assessment, intervention or ongoing support following a loss will be able to receive it."

Work begins soon on how this will be developed and implemented.

https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/registration-stillborn-babies-be-made-easier

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Last call for the next VCA Professional Series online course. We start Monday 6th and then it won't be available again until July 2027.

Yesterday I attended the launch of the new stillbirth registration process within the Wheturangitia website, by Minister Matt Doocey. This gives bereaved families the option of a more compassionate pathway, and they can still choose the regular Smart Start pathway as well. In hui with bereaved whānau for the project, it was pointed out that going online and filling out the forms for a precious baby who has died was hard, and then to be met with a charge of $37 at the end for the certificate, was incredibly disappointing at the very least. Watch this space, as the waiving of the fee is part of the next phase of work in this project.

'A kick in the guts': Calls for fees associated with registering stillbirths to be waived Families of stillborn babies and their advocates want the fee for birth certificates waived.

The Waves of Change conference on the Gold Coast in early August has extended the early bird pricing until 30 June.

Join leading clinicians, researchers, advocates, policy leaders, and bereaved parents for two inspiring days of connection, collaboration, innovation, and change in perinatal and stillbirth care.

https://forms.matereducation.qld.edu.au/waves-of-change-2026/

After last week's budget, this is where we are in the baby loss community. We were hoping, but not holding our breath, that this government might just consider the needs of bereaved whānau. We had done the mahi, presented them with a road map, and... nothing. We're told Tuituia te Kahu is being used as 'a critical point of reference', but that simply feels like more of the same. So here's to more energy, more awareness raising, more voices speaking of the need for this pathway; and let's not care about the dirt on our face, the blood on our knees, let's keep rising for yet another go! One day we'll see structured support for whānau when a baby dies.

Although this news is from last week, I wanted to celebrate that after so much hard work raising awareness and educating our government, Amanda and the team at Rei Kotuku were able to secure funding for pediatric palliative care. Ka rawe! This will make all the difference to so many families facing such heartbreak with their children.

This gives me an iota of hope that we might see funding for Tuituia te Kahu | The National Perinatal Bereavement Care Pathway

Government to spend $15.5m on palliative care for children The care would be delivered by dedicated specialist teams in both the North and South islands.

Upcoming courses, let your friends and colleagues know :-)
https://www.vca.co.nz/vca-online-learning.html

Australia continues to lead the world in funding for baby loss support, research and prevention. Shared from Paula Dillon, a midwife in Queensland and a bereaved mum. Thanks Paula x.

"2026 BUDGET SNIPPETS:
* Stillbirth: perinatal workforce and education continued...
- An additional $13.1 million over three years from 2025–26 to improve understanding of the causes of stillbirth, provide support to grieving families and prevent future occurrences. This includes $9.7 million over two years from 2026–27 to continue to support bereaved parents by maintaining the perinatal pathologist and perinatal loss coordinator workforce, and $3.5 million over three years from 2025-26 to continue a range of actions to reduce the stillbirth rate in Australia through community education and awareness activities.
* Perinatal mental health screening: extended
- $4.9 million in 2026–27 to extend work to achieve universal perinatal mental health screening across public antenatal and postnatal care settings.
* YourIVFSuccess fertility information service
- $1.2 million over two years from 2026–27 to continue providing
information and advice on fertility services through the YourIVFSuccess website."

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Aren't these urns just beautiful? Hannah is in Australia and provides them for free to bereaved families. I wonder if there's anyone in Aotearoa NZ who is doing anything similar? (And not necessarily for free).

About - Olive and Kin - Handmade ceramics and urns for bereaved parents Welcome to Olive & Kin, where every piece tells a story of resilience and hope. Founded by Hannah in the wake of her daughter Olive's passing, our pottery embodies the transformative power of grief into art. Explore our heartfelt collection, from bespoke urns to cherished homewares, each crafted wit...