Born to a Changing World

Emerging from diaries, letters and memoirs, the voices of this charming narrative tell of new life arriving amidst a turbulent world.


Women in the nineteenth century gave birth in widely varying circumstances: Māori women of noble families might be lovingly cared for within the whare kōhanga; wealthy colonial wives employed doctors and monthly nurses; rural women relied on local midwives and neighbours to deliver their babies. The poor or unmarried might need to turn to charitable institutions for support. These very different histories from the years before the Plunket Society, ‘safe’ Caesarean sections, and registered midwives are brought together for the first time.


"The book is full of real stories of New Zealand families... it is a fascinating and informative history that has broad appeal to anyone interested in 'the way things were'"Midwifery News, March 2013


"A most illuminating, humane and comprehensive book about childbirth as those woman experienced it... This is a book everyone should read..." Nola Leov, New Zealand Society of Genealogists Nelson Branch Newsletter, February 2013


"A fascinating combination of social and personal history." Ngaire Atmore, New Zealand Herald on Sunday, 16 December 2012


"This is a fascinating, and sometimes very sad account of a time, not long ago, when our grandmothers and great grandmothers accepted the very high risk of infant mortality, and even their own early deaths, bringing their children into the world … A very sobering but important historical account and tribute to pioneering women. " Tom O'Connor, Waikato Times, 26 January 2013


Awarded the Ian Wards Prize, Archives and Records Association of New Zealand (ARANZ), 2013