Pregnancy and childbirth is often a stressful and fragile time for new mothers. But add losing your home and everything you owned, and the experience becomes unimaginable.
Kalauokekahuli is one of many organizations coming to the aid of new mothers affected by the Maui wildfires. They offer free, culturally-based prenatal, birth and postpartum education for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander families.
“One of the main things that we've been doing recently is connecting breast milk donors with mamas who have been displaced or who have lost their homes and their breast milk stashes in the fires," said ‘Iolani Brosio, co-founder of Kalauokekahuli.
"As we know, breast milk supply can take a dip with traumatic events and stress and lack of adequate nutrition and hydration," she said.
In coordination with Air Maui, her organization flew in a 48-hour supply of frozen breast milk to West Maui mothers.
Kalauokekahuli has prepared lāʻau kits with herbal remedies and sent newborn supply kits to Lāhainā. They also launched an initiative to provide access to free wellness and mental health care for pregnant and postpartum wāhine.
The organization also has home birth supplies available for mothers who had previously been planning a home birth and lost everything.
“It’s just been so incredible to witness our community, our lāhui, rising up to uplift one another in this hard, heartbreaking, devastating time. But we’re all here for each other, and that means something,” Brosio said.
Brosio encourages new mothers who need breastmilk or resources to reach out to Kalauokekahuli on social media, as well as those wanting to make donations, kalauokekahuli.org.
Other resources for pregnant and new mothers on Maui:
- Pacific Birth Collective, a community-based professional network for support and advocacy for birthing: pacificbirthcollective.org.
- Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, a Hawaiʻi nonprofit, has a mobile health clinic on Maui with nurses and midwives: hmhb-hawaii.org.
- Maui Family Support Services, Inc. is an organization to support keiki and families: mfss.org.
Many other organizations are also working to collect donations and provide resources to new mothers in need.
