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Crowdfunding: Feature Documentary Pacific Mother Examines Aotearoa’s Maternity System

Director Kathy McRae (DEGNZ) and her team are independently funding a feature documentary that dives deeper into themes explored in Water Baby, their Loading Docs short film.

Water Baby (2019) documented freediving couple Sachiko Fukumoto and William Trubridge’s quest to have a water birth in the ocean. The short documentary has been watched by around 8 million people and is used by educators around the world, motivating expecting parents to explore birthing options. 

Its sequel, Pacific Mother, will explore the disconnection between the global default maternity system and the needs of families. The filmmaking team are running a live Kickstarter campaign to help them raise NZD 30,000 to help finish the film, including telling the story of Aotearoa’s maternity system.

In Pacific Mother, Sachiko travels from Japan to Hawaii, Tahiti, the Cook Islands and New Zealand to connect with strong ocean women, whose interwoven stories about birth and parenthood inspire a more traditional, connected way of life.

Please support Kathy McRae’s film if you can! Find more information about Pacific Mother on their Kickstarter page. Their fundraising campaign has 19 days remaining.

Director Kathy McRae and producer Migiwa Ozawa in Hawai’i before Covid-19 shut the borders in 2020.

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Parental Leave Membership

Aditya Romansa

Members stopping work to take parental leave can contact the National Office to receive six months of free Parental Leave Membership. Members on parental leave shall continue to receive Guild communications but their access to other membership benefits will be paused until they are financial again.

i. For members on Annual Billing who have already paid their annual subscription, their remaining membership period will be pro-rated and credited as an extension when they return.

ii. Members on Monthly Billing who are part-way through their annual commitment may contact the National Office to switch to Parental Leave Membership and terminate their current term.

Please contact us if you have recently had a child or have a baby on the way to enquire about DEGNZ Parental Leave Membership.

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