Tauranga mums and mums-to-be are trying to reduce their smoking habits while creating a special gift for their unborn baby.
The Ukaipō programme was created to combat the high percentage of Māori women who smoked while pregnant by providing useful information and the incentive of weaving a wahakura (traditional Māori woven flax basket).
The programme was held at Wairoa Marae in Bethlehem this week and ran over four days which covered a range of topics such as the history of smoking, effects smoking had on unborn babies, CO2 testing for mums-to-be as well as information about flax gathering and tikanga (customs).
According to statistics from Smokefree NZ, 34 per cent of Māori pregnant women are more likely to be smokers.
Also, smoking during pregnancy was the leading cause of Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI) and accounts for 86 per cent of SUDI cases between 2006 and 2010.