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Breastfeeding with Aroha
Breastfeeding support, tips, and mātauranga for māmā, pēpi, and whānau on their breastfeeding journey.
9 June 2026
Protecting the health and wellbeing of your pēpi and tamariki is one of the most important decisions whānau can make. Immunisation is a safe and effective way to help protect against serious, preventable māuiui and support a healthy future for our tamariki.
At Te Manu Toroa, we understand that every whānau has their own journey when it comes to hauora. We are here to listen, support, and walk alongside you as you make informed choices for your pēpi and tamariki.
Immunisation is one of the best ways to protect your pēpi and tamariki from serious diseases like whooping cough, measles, pneumonia, and polio. While pēpi receive some protection from their māmā at birth, this doesn’t last long, so immunisation provides ongoing protection.
Immunisation helps:
● Protect pēpi and tamariki from serious illness
● Prevent long-term health issues
● Reduce the spread of infectious diseases in our hapori
●Protect the most vulnerable in our whānau, such as pēpi, kaumātua, and those with weakened immune systems
● Support the health and wellbeing of our wider hapori
Vaccines help your child’s immune system learn how to recognise and fight harmful germs. They contain a weakened or inactive version of a germ, which teaches their tinana to produce antibodies and respond safely.
This means that if your tamariki is exposed to the same māuiui in the future, their tinana can respond quickly and help protect them from serious illness.
To ensure full protection, it’s important that pēpi and tamariki receive all recommended vaccine doses.
There is a lot of information out there, and it can sometimes feel confusing. Let’s wānanga some common pōhēhē (myths).
Kao, vaccines do not contain toxic chemicals, viruses, or harmful cells. The ingredients used are in very small, safe amounts, and many are already found in our tinana, kai, and te taiao.
● Formaldehyde:
Our tinana makes formaldehyde naturally every day. It helps build DNA.
→ A single pear has around 60 times more formaldehyde than a vaccine.
● Polysorbate 80:
This ingredient is also used in kai, like ice cream.
● Aluminium:
Aluminium is the most common metal on Earth. We’re exposed to it daily through kai and water.
→ The tiny amount used in some vaccines helps the immune system work better and has been used safely for over 80 years.
It’s the amount that matters. Small amounts can be safe and useful — even when the name sounds scary.
Vaccines are carefully tested and monitored to make sure the ingredients are safe for our pēpi and tamariki. They don’t contain extra viruses or harmful cells.
Diseases like measles and polio haven’t gone away. They’re still present in parts of the world, continue to circulate overseas, and can return to Aotearoa.
In fact, measles has recently re-emerged here. When immunisation rates fall, these diseases can spread quickly, putting our pēpi and tamariki at risk.
As whānau, ask yourself: How do we protect our pēpi and tamariki when these diseases are still out there?
This belief started with a 1998 study that falsely claimed a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and autism. The doctor who conducted the study had his medical license removed.
Since then, many large studies around the world have found no scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism.
As whānau, how do we decide what to trust? How do we protect the mauri of our tamariki and mokopuna?
While natural infection can sometimes give strong immunity, it also comes with serious risks, including:
● Hospitalisation
● Long-term health complications
● Serious illness, or in some cases, even death
Vaccines teach your tinana to fight disease safely, without making you sick.
Measles example:
Natural infection → 1 in 1,000 risk of brain inflammation, 2 deaths per 1,000 cases. Vaccine → serious reaction 1 in a million.
Vaccines give protection safely, while natural infection carries far higher risks.
Herd immunity helps reduce the spread of disease, but it only works reliably when a very high percentage of tamariki are immunised.
Even then, it isn’t perfect. Some tamariki and whānau can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons and rely on others being immunised to stay safe.
By immunising your tamariki, you help protect them, your whānau, and the most vulnerable members of your hapori.
Kao. Vaccines are very safe. Before any vaccine is approved for use in Aotearoa, it undergoes years of careful testing by scientists and health experts here and around the world.
Only vaccines with a proven safety record are approved, and their safety continues to be closely monitored after they are introduced. The benefits of immunisation far outweigh the risks, helping to protect pēpi and tamariki from serious, preventable māuiui.
Vaccines are one of the most thoroughly researched and monitored health interventions in the world.
The immune systems of pēpi and tamariki are designed to handle many germs every day. Through crawling, eating, playing, and exploring, they are exposed to thousands of bacteria and viruses, and their tinana manage this naturally.
Modern vaccines contain only a small number of antigens, even though they protect against more diseases than ever before. The immune system of your pēpi/tamariki can handle the small number of antigens in vaccines with no problem. In fact, it can respond to more than 10,000 vaccines at once if needed.
Vaccines help train the immune system safely, without overloading it, and provide protection against serious māuiui when tamariki need it most.
Hear from our tākuta, Dr Tayla, and our nēhi Trina as they kōrero about childhood immunisation, why it matters, and how it helps protect our pēpi and tamariki.
They also talk through what to expect at a childhood immunisation appointment, what to do if any immunisations are missed or delayed, and how we support whānau every step of the way.
Breastfeeding support, tips, and mātauranga for māmā, pēpi, and whānau on their breastfeeding journey.
Our clinics will be closed on selected public holidays. Check closure dates and available healthcare support during these times.
Free Kirihimete resources, recipes, activities, and wellbeing tips to support whānau hauora, connection, and festive fun this holiday season.