Kerre McIvor: Help a hard sell to scared mums

It makes perfect sense to focus on the health of the mother and the baby in utero. Photo / Thinkstock

A group of us went up to Kerikeri last weekend to run the Kerikeri Half Marathon. As is the case with most of our group's trips away, it was two days of fun and frivolity interrupted by a 21km run.

The coaches, whose rewards will come in heaven, were our sober drivers and that enabled us to enjoy a variety of different entertainment options.

One of our group was going to a friend's party and she was the last pick-up of the night. As she and Kiri drove down the dark country roads on their way to our hotel in Paihia, Kiri slammed on the brakes. She'd almost run into a young woman, dressed in dark clothing and staggering along the middle of the road.

They spun the car around to make sure she was all right. Conversation was difficult as she appeared to be as high as a kite, and it took them a while to get her to decide where she wanted to go. She didn't want to be dropped back at one of the many police checkpoints - in fact, she became distressed and agitated at the very suggestion that she be delivered into the safe custody of a police officer.

Eventually she asked to be taken to her uncle's, who lived some way away. On the drive there, the girls learned she was eight months' pregnant and a recovering crack addict who claimed she'd been clean for the past few months, although her demeanour suggested otherwise. She had another two children, nowhere to live and there was no partner on the scene.

They delivered her to the uncle's house. Kiri wanted to go up the drive with her to make sure she got there safely but she was adamant she'd be fine. And so they left her and returned, somewhat shaken, to the hotel.

I couldn't help but think of this tragic soul when the parliamentary select committee's report into child health and prevention of child abuse was released this week.

The 10-member, cross-party committee had taken their job very seriously and the report was a credit to them. It makes perfect sense to focus on the health of the mother and the baby in utero, rather than spend millions of dollars on multi-agency interventions after a child has been born to woeful parents in deprived circumstances.

Among many proposals, the committee advised that a pregnant mother should see a doctor within 10 weeks of conception, the reason being that the earlier a mother was assessed the sooner intervention can occur, be it medical, social or both.

Other important recommendations included improved access to contraception but when I read the 90 per cent target for getting women in front of a health professional within 10 weeks of conception, I couldn't help but think of the waif my mates had found in the middle of the road.

That's the mother the select committee is targeting - she's the one who's likely to be producing damaged babies, in partnership with a bloke who may or may not be in her life.

It's hard to see how the child of her womb is going to arrive hale, hearty and in an environment where it can reach its full potential. How do you get a young mother who is fearful of authority and the establishment to get along to a medical professional?

And even if you do, how do you get her to follow the doctor's advice?

I don't want to be a naysayer: the report was comprehensive and I totally agree with the premise that the Government's focus should be on preconception and in the first few years following the birth of the child. In many cases, the committee is preaching to the converted.

But how will the message get through to girls who can't or won't hear?