What Petal Does
Petal gives babies a safe, loving start while creating time and space for māma and whānau to work out what comes next. We exist to lower pressure, giving māma and whānau breathing room to recover, seek support, and make informed choices instead of rushed decisions.
How Petal Can Help
Respite Care
For mothers of non-mobile babies who are in need of respite and time to catch a breath, or a mumma under postpartum mental health strain.
Transitional Care
We provide a safe, loving and consistent environment for pre-transition babies, with a particular focus on time and space, reducing trauma when transitioning into their new family.
Safe Care
For babies whose mother’s cannot safely take baby home right now, or following a concealed pregnancy or sudden crisis.
Transitions in and out of our Petal home are tailored, culturally sensitive and well planned to the individual situation. It’s important for mothers to understand, they are always in control. If required we are here to provide guidance and support. Depending on the situation, we provide short or long-term care for baby and in some cases, we can offer a place for mothers to stay. Petal is an independent service, not a hospital or adoption service. It works alongside statutory and community services when needed while maintaining clear legal and privacy boundaries.
Our approach is different…
Customised Care. We will work out who the best carer would be for each baby’s personalised care (custom care)
Attachment Based. Using the “Attachment Focused” approach: holding, eye contact, talking, providing love, stability and day-to-day predictability
Acknowledging Cultural Diversity. The Petal Foundation welcomes all cultures, aiming for inclusivity and showing respect for their important practices
Well resourced. The Petal Home® and wrap around services for baby ie. GP and Registered Nurses on call, focus on baby’s overall well being
Holistic Care. To break the cycle of trauma for vulnerable babies, supporting their emotions, psychological, spiritual and physical well-being
Safe Transitions. We follow a process to minimise trauma from transitioning, either from mama, carer and then transitioning back to mama with support
A unique and specialised short-term care service designed specifically for babies and their families.
Petal babies
Baby N
Baby N spent a day at our Petal Home while his mother was seeking much needed mental health and addiction support. There was no one else in his wider whānau who was available to care for him for a whole day.
It was just a short stay, and as with all cases of respite care, his mother retained full guardianship. Social Services and Baby N’s mother knew he was in safe hands with Petal’s experienced carers. His carer ensured she followed Baby N’s routine to keep him calm and settled.
Baby L
Baby L’s birth mother was unable to keep her for family and religious reasons. Initially she was going to stay at the Petal Home for just 3 days, however she remained in our care for 3 months while her adoption was finalised. Her birth mother was welcomed to visit and she did so 3 times.
The same carer took care of Baby L from 9am to 6pm every day and another carer, always the same, cared for her from 6pm to 9am so Baby L was as settled and secure as possible during her first months of life.
When family for Baby L was confirmed for her adoption, they visited the Petal Home multiple times to get to know their new daughter and to start bonding with her. With each visit our team supported her new parents with their understanding of her specific care and routines, building up their confidence and ensuring Baby L’s transition into her new family home was not rushed and the least traumatic it could be for everyone.
Baby R
Petal provided emergency care for Baby R for her first 3 days of life as her mother was struggling with addiction and her father was struggling to look after her 4 other siblings. At 3 months old she returned for 3 days per week for a couple of months but had sadly not experienced attachment due to her family circumstances.
Baby R had exposure to methamphetamine while in the womb so was withdrawing and was therefore a challenging baby for her family to care for. The team at Petal supported her family with guidance to help them learn how to best look after her.