Using the Maternity Report web tool I have extracted birth profiles for the most southern region of New Zealand, the Southern DHB and the most northerly region, the Northland DHB. Ministry of Health definition, "Deprivation quintiles of residence range from 1 (least deprived) to 5 (most deprived)."
Note the almost mirror-like reversal of deprivation quintiles. In Southland most babies are born in the least deprived quintile whereas in Northland most babies are born in the most deprived quintile. What a fascinating contrast.
Just for good measure let's throw in the middle of the country, the Wellington region, Capital and Coast DHB:
Comparatively New Zealand is a great place to be born in but whereabouts in NZ predicts a great deal about outcomes.
4 comments:
Would be interested to know what the partnership status of the different regions looks like.
My guess is it would be very different too.
Does the tool extend to that information? Or do fathers not count at births either?
Fathers? Babies have fathers??
No. No father data here as it is Maternity data only - mothers and babies.
I share your interest though.
Story of two cultures; Pair and Peer.
One culture is peer-bonded and trying to reproduce kids who don't attach to a pair-bonded mother and father. Kids up in Northland raise each other and attach to the tribe, the communistic grouping, the many.
Kids in Southland are raised to have a solid family at home and to reproduce it when they grow up. Their self-esteem in nurtured so they can be strong individuals and challenge tribal structures and bust through conventions and glass ceilings.
For the given culture to survive they need a reproductive strategy that suits the mode of life they seek to replicate.
Which way is better? Who can say. The main priority is to have a social system that allows the different kinds of New Zealander to live together without trying to wipe each other out. That's the hard part.
To quote Dr Gabor Mate, "Immature creatures aren't supposed to raise immature creatures."
I saw a job advertisement this morning looking for a nutritionist to provide healthy meals for the free lunch program that a high-school is beginning next year. It does concern me that people will be leaving high-school not even having the ability to prepare their own food.
Eventually there's going to be a group of people who are going to expect the state to do everything for them (if we aren't already there).
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