Postpartum support: medical support (Part II)
Created in collaboration with Madeleine Newman, the founder of Poppins Postpartum (@poppinspostpartum).
Private health insurance
Deciding whether to take out private health insurance in New Zealand is a big decision-one that depends on your personal circumstances, health needs, and budget. While New Zealand’s public healthcare system is robust and covers most acute and emergency care, private health insurance can offer extra peace of mind and flexibility. Here’s a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages to help you decide what’s right for you.
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Shorter wait times: One of the biggest draws of private health insurance is skipping long public waitlists for specialist appointments, elective surgeries, and some diagnostic procedures. This means you may be able to access treatment faster, which is especially important if you have ongoing health concerns.
More choice and control: With private insurance, you often get to choose your specialist, surgeon, and hospital. This gives you more control over your healthcare experience and can make the process feel more personal.
Broader coverage: Many private policies cover treatments and services not funded by the public system, such as dental and vision care, physiotherapy, mental health support, and some medications (including certain cancer drugs not funded by Pharmac).
Access to advanced treatments: Some policies offer access to the latest medical technologies and treatments that may not yet be available in the public system.
Enhanced comfort: Private hospitals often provide more comfortable facilities, such as private rooms and better amenities, making your stay more pleasant.
Financial security: Health insurance can help protect you from unexpected, high-cost treatments, reducing financial stress if something goes wrong.
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Cost of premiums: Private health insurance isn’t cheap, and premiums tend to rise as you age. For some, the cost may outweigh the benefits, especially if you rarely use private services.
Exclusions and limitations: Not everything is covered. Cosmetic surgery, organ transplants, and some experimental procedures are often excluded. Policies may also have waiting periods or exclude pre-existing conditions.
Affordability issues: For some households, private health insurance may simply be out of reach. Those with pre-existing conditions may face higher costs or limited coverage.
Potential redundancy: New Zealand’s public health system already covers most acute and chronic conditions, accidents, and emergencies. If you’re young, healthy, and don’t need elective procedures, private insurance may offer limited additional value.
Policy complexity: Health insurance policies can be confusing, with lots of fine print, exclusions, and variations between providers. It pays to do your homework before signing up.
Underutilisation: Some people find they pay more in premiums than they ever claim, especially if they remain healthy or don’t need elective treatments.
Top tip: If you already have health insurance, adding your newborn to your policy within the first three months after birth can be beneficial. Most major New Zealand insurers allow you to do this without requiring a health assessment for your baby, and will often cover qualifying pre-existing medical conditions that arise after birth. Some insurers even offer to waive your child’s premiums for the first few months.
If you add your child after the three-month window, your insurer may require a health assessment and could exclude certain pre-existing conditions from cover, so it pays to act promptly and check your policy’s specific terms.
Midwives
Midwives provide new mothers and newborns with medical care for the first 4–6 weeks after birth. They make home visits to check on your recovery and your baby’s development.
Everyone has a midwife to help them post-birth, either through their Lead Maternity Carer (LMC) or the hospital. Even if you have an obstetrician or GP for the birth, midwives will take care of you once you’re home.
They are your first port of call for any health issues and can refer you to other specialists, such as lactation consultants, maternal mental health and pelvic floor physios.
Cost: Free. Maternity care is free in New Zealand for most pregnant women (check your eligibility here). If you’re paying for a private obstetrician—around NZ$7,000—post-birth care from a midwife is typically included in your package.
Whānau Āwhina Plunket
The charity Whānau Āwhina Plunket is the most well-known of the Well Child providers in New Zealand. Its primary role is to ensure that babies have what they need to reach their developmental milestones from birth to 5 years. Everyone in New Zealand can access Plunket.
Plunket also runs a 24/7 free helpline (0800 933 922), which can be a huge support without having to leave the home. Depending on your region, Plunket also offers tele-appointments with nurses, in-home visits, drop-in clinics, car seat installation, lactation consultants, playgroups and even toy libraries. You can use their local service search tool to see what’s nearby.
Cost: Free
Family doctors (GP)
You can enrol your child in a general practice so they can see a family doctor and/or nurse. After your midwife visits have finished, your family doctor is your first port of call for medical concerns.
They treat common medical conditions and refer patients to hospitals and other medical services for urgent and specialist treatment. They can also administer vaccinations.
Cost: Free daytime standard visits for all children aged 13 and under eligible for publicly funded health services. After-hours services may incur extra costs.
Paediatricians
Paediatricians provide specialist care to children from newborns to adolescents. After birth, a hospital paediatric team member may conduct a routine check of your baby to ensure all is well.
From that point onwards, a child must be referred to a paediatrician by another medical professional, such as a family doctor. Parents cannot self-refer to a paediatrician.
Paediatricians provide care and treatment for children with ongoing or underlying health concerns that need to be monitored and treated by a specialist. Examples include developmental delays, functional disabilities, and serious illness. As with doctors for adults, paediatricians can also have subspecialities, such as paediatric dermatologists.
Cost: Free if you are seen within the public health system. $150-200 for a private standard consultation, can be as high as $500 for a complex private consultation.
Maternal Mental Health
Maternal Mental Health provides highly specialised care to women who are pregnant or have a baby under 12 months of age and who are experiencing moderate to severe mental health issues related to pregnancy, childbirth and/or the adjustment to parenting.
The Ministry of Health estimates 12–18% of Kiwi mothers and 10% of fathers will develop depression, anxiety or other mental health issues during the perinatal period. Much of this goes undiagnosed, so if you’re struggling, seek help from your midwife, family doctor, or Plunket, who can refer you to Maternal Mental Health. Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Aotearoa also provides a list of support services.
The type of care available through Maternal Mental Health depends on individual needs but can include community mental health teams, psychiatrists, therapy groups and counselling. They can also provide mothers with respite homes and in-home support (for example, some Karitane and maternity nurses take Maternal Mental Health contracts in addition to private work).
Cost: Free. Te Whatu Ora administers this publicly funded service.
Pelvic floor physios
Your pelvic floor helps control essential bodily functions, such as pooping, peeing and having sex. Many women experience pelvic floor injuries during birth.
They can diagnose birth injuries and help you rebuild your muscles to repair the damage. You can read more about this in our collaboration with Unity Studios.
Cost: ACC expanded coverage of birth injuries in October 2022, so now many new mothers can access discounted services. Initial one-hour consults are around $75-120 if you meet the ACC criteria or $150-250 if you pay privately. Follow-up sessions typically cost slightly less.
Baby osteopath
A baby osteopath can identify any strains or restrictions your baby might experience due to birthing. Issues can sometimes arise because of prolonged labour or very fast delivery, forceps or vacuum interventions, or excessive moulding of the baby’s head.
Benefits to you: They use gentle treatment to help with breastfeeding challenges, fussiness (e.g., colic), digestive issues (e.g., reflux) and head shape. There is no minimum age for a child to see a baby osteo.
Cost: Initial consults for a baby cost around $70-85, and follow-up sessions cost slightly less.
Postpartum Support Series:
Now for the important legal part: The information we provide is general and not regulated financial advice for the purposes of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Please seek independent legal, financial, tax or other advice in considering whether the content in this article is appropriate for your goals, situation or needs. The information in this article is current as at 15 May 2025.
Stephanie Pow
Founder & CEO of Crayon
Madeleine Newman
Founder of Poppins Postpartum