Plunket chief executive Amanda Malu said the charity, which helps about 50,000 newborns each year, relied on fundraising to provide extra services on top of the nursing services and Plunketline, which were funded by the government.
The services included providing programmes to educate and support parents, as well as running playgroups connecting mothers in their communities.
Malu said the additional services gave vital reassurance and support to new parents because babies did not come with handbooks.
Some of the topics covered include breastfeeding sleeping, settling, toilet training.
As well as keeping its existing services running, Plunket was looking to extend its Plunketline services so parents could book a face-to-face chat with experts such as lactation consultants. It would also benefit people in rural areas who might not be able to access services in their communities.
Plunket will celebrate its 111th birthday on May 14 and while babies and families had not changed, the way Plunket delivered its service particularly utilising social media and technology to communicate with families had, Malu said.
"The pressures on families are different today than they were 111 years ago, but then 111 years ago we had a really high rate of infant mortality so it was just different times.
"We get lovely letters, lovely feedback from people even years later who say Plunket really got them through some tough times when they had young families. It's really great to know the work we are doing does genuinely make a difference of a lifetime for families."
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