ABOUT MICHELLE

Hi, I’m Michelle. I’m a Wife and Mama of 2, Olivia and John, living in the Lower Kaimai's on a large lifestyle block where we have 2 dogs, some cows and chickens. After breezing through my first pregnancy, I walked into my second with confidence and naivety. When this pregnancy ended in miscarriage at what I thought was nine weeks, I was devastated to find out the baby had stopped growing at 5 weeks. In those initial weeks, I had already planned out this baby’s entire future – just as quickly, it was all taken away, made all the more lonely by being in a lockdown.

Seeing my anguish and grief, my sister arranged a voucher for a massage for me at Sanctum Medi Spa in Mount Maunganui. When I left, the receptionist at the time Angela understood my pain and had beautiful white flowers waiting for me to take home.

 I found the gentle and nurturing massage incredibly healing and the flowers truly acknowledged the realness of my loss, I knew in that moment that I couldn't be the only one feeling this way. Wanting to help other Mama feel seen and cared for, I reached out to Sanctum Medi Spa and Myrrh & Co who were the first to join the team and so Massage after Miscarriage Aotearoa (MAMA) was born in July 2020.

Since then we have had the incredible privilege to offer support to over 700 Mama mostly in Tauranga but also throughout the country thanks to the amazing businesses and people that have donated since we started.