Health practitioners have important roles in eliminating inequities and sustaining Māori self-determination, according to a Kaupapa Māori study. Ten health practitioners who had been identified as champions by whānau of preterm Māori infants were interviewed for the study. Champions felt collaboration between health practitioners and whānau was crucial to enabling whānau autonomy. Connectivity and relationships were central to this concept, as was the appreciation that childbirth is a sacred time that is potentially disrupted when an infant is born prematurely. The authors stated that their findings were an exemplar of what culturally safe care looks like in day-to-day practice with Māori.
