Together we can give babies the best start in life.
Hello Kia Ora Talofa Mālō e lelei Ni Hao Namaste Sata srī akāla Sawadee Bula
At our Petal Home we offer respite and transitional care for vulnerable newborns, keeping them safe and helping to stabilise their emotional and physical well-being. Whether they are with us for just a few hours or over a month, we help babies in our care to have a loving and secure start, setting them up to grow and flourish.
Where Petal can help
Respite Care
For mothers of non-mobile babies who are in need of respite and time to catch a breath but may be lacking support from whanau or friends to allow this to happen at home.
Pre-transition
We provide a safe, loving and consistent environment for pre-transition babies, with a particular focus on reducing trauma when transitioning into their new family.
Safe Care
For babies whose mother’s may be temporarily unable to provide safe care for their baby, for example they may need to address addiction issues.
"If, in the first two months of life, a child experienced high adversity but was then put into a healthier environment for the next twelve years, their outcomes were worse than the outcomes of children who had low adversity and healthy connections in the first two months but then spent the next twelve years with high adversity.
Think of that: The child who has only two months of really bad experiences does worse than the child with almost twelve years of bad experiences, all because of the timing of the experiences."
- Bruce D.Perry, M.D. Ph.D (world leading clinician and researcher in children’s mental health and the neurosciences)
Help support Petal
Gift Essentials
There are often clothes or household goods that can benefit the families we support.
Volunteer
Our fantastic volunteers help us by donating their time for anything from cleaning and maintenance, to knitting and sewing. Ask about roles available for you within our team.
Words cannot describe how immensely grateful we are to the Petal Foundation for the endless love and support they put into ensuring that our daughter had the best possible start to life regardless of the situation with which she was born into. With great care and kindness the Petal team played an integral part in ensuring that our daughter’s transition into our care as her adoptive parents was not rushed; we were given time to get to know her, to learn her routines, and build a connection, all under the guidance of a patient team who were always there to help and answer any questions along the way. My husband and I reflect on our time with the Petal Foundation and feel that without their involvement our experience would have been a great deal more rushed, stressful, and even traumatic, but instead all parties came away confident and ready to move forward. It is our wish that every child, birth parent, and adoptive parent going through a transition of care can be provided with the positive and nurturing environment that the Petal Foundation creates!
— Anonymous, transitional care parent
