Sex work is how I support my family
How would you earn your living if you and your child had a severe disability? One mother shares how she has found a job that makes her life just a little easier.
What milestones mean when your baby stopped breathing for 11 minutes at birth
When this mother gave birth, her daughter was unable to breathe on her own – for 11 long, agonising minutes. These days she has a different attitude to the developmental milestones that many parents take for granted.
The Masterbatorium: A queer experience of conceiving
As we near the end of Pride Month, the Spinoff Parents is sharing some stories from Rainbow families. First off, a story of getting pregnant from a lesbian couple who wish to remain anonymous.
Abuse doesn’t always look like black eyes and bruised ribs
A mother writes about surviving and escaping an emotionally abusive relationship, to encourage others to find help should they need it.
‘I started to get sicker. And sicker.’ What it’s like renting from a slumlord when you’re a chronically ill parent
Think your rental situation is tough? Try living with a chronic medical condition in a dark, mould-infested dump - and with a child to care for. One anonymous renter tells her story.
To the staff of Wellington Hospital’s Te Mahoe clinic: This is what you did for me when you gave me an abortion
More than 13,000 abortions were performed in New Zealand last year, yet the reasons why women have one remain largely hidden. One reason for the secrecy: the stigma of abortion, exacerbated by its inclusion in the Crimes Act, a situation PM Bill English says he has no interest in rectifying. Here one anonymous mother explains why an abortion was the right choice for her.
The black cloud: How I survived my postnatal depression to live again
This is what depression does. It feeds you lies.' In this anonymous post, a mother talks about how her journey through postnatal depression and out the other side – and implores us to talk about it to save other parents going through the same thing.
My husband, the sperm donor: confronting the truth about the children whose names we don’t even know
An anonymous mother shares her story of marrying a man who has donated sperm multiple times – and the ongoing impact of decisions made more than a decade ago.
