The Green mum
Julie Anne Genter is determined to normalise being a mother in power, and refuses to put her political ideals on hold while looking after a newborn. Cecile Meier reports.
After two miscarriages, and with her Green Party in peril, a top political position and a happy, healthy pregnancy seemed a long way off for Julie Anne Genter.
But a year on, seven months pregnant and in a position where she can make a real difference, the Minister for Women is not about to sacrifice one for the other.
The American-born 38-year-old will be the second minister to give birth while in office in New Zealand – after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who had a baby girl on Thursday – and she doesn’t mind the extra pressure coming with being seen as a role model by some.
Genter is known for her fierce brand of feminism. She has been outspoken about reproductive rights, gender equality, sexual harassment and on a more personal level has opened up about her fertility struggles.
Feminism and motherhood have sometimes clashed, but Genter seems determined to normalise being a woman – and a mother – in power.
As though this wasn’t a heavy enough torch to carry, she also lives by her green ideals and doesn’t plan to put these on hold while looking after a newborn.
She plans a natural birth at home, with a rental birthing pool and an old futon as a birth mat. She is stocking up on cloth nappies and is excited to attend a waste-free parenting workshop.
The baby – she knows the sex but wants to keep it a surprise – will come along with her around town in a cargo bike she bought secondhand from friends.
Most parents-to-be have lofty goals in the glowing prenatal period, but she knows her plans are ambitious.
‘‘My first choice is to try and give birth at home with an experienced midwife and I totally accept as an older first-time mum it may not work out, but I live five minutes away from hospital.’’
She’s relaxed about it all but admits she will never feel completely prepared.
She believes that ‘‘if it gets too hard and complicated then it’s OK to do what you have to do to make it through the day and keep your kid alive’’.
Her partner, economist Peter Nunns, seems equally relaxed.
He does hope, though, that the media does not show up at his doorstep for the birth in the large numbers they did for Ardern at Auckland Hospital.
‘‘Quite frankly, we don’t have anywhere to put you guys. We might be able to get one of our neighbours to give you a cup of tea
I am very passionate about my job and I accept I might not be the perfect parent. Being the best parent I can be may mean bringing more outside support.
but that’s about it.’’
Just like any other mum-to-be, Genter is nervous she might not get everything right.
She is planning to take three months off from parliamentary duties and Nunns will stay at home for six to nine months after that.
The family will likely be based in Wellington for a while after Genter returns to work. She hopes to be able to keep breastfeeding in Parliament with a mix of expressing, and Nunns bringing baby over for feeding sessions.
‘‘I am very passionate about my job and I accept I might not be the perfect parent. Being the best parent I can be may mean bringing more outside support.’’
Nunns hopes he and Ardern’s partner, Clarke Gayford, who will also be stay-at-home dad for several months, will help normalise men taking time off work to be with their family and do more of the parenting.
He doesn’t know Gayford, ‘‘and to be honest I’m terrible at fishing but I’m sure we will end up running into each other’’.
Genter, who has health and transport portfolios, knows she is ‘‘incredibly privileged’’ to be in a position where she can make choices that work for her family and wants to use her position to improve things for other parents.
The Government has already made headway with a commitment to extend paid parental leave to 26 weeks in 2020 but there is still work to do, she says.
This year’s budget includes a pay increase for community midwives but ‘‘we have a long way to go and we need to make sure they have sustainable working conditions’’, she says.
‘‘We have very good maternal health services all throughout pregnancy but there is more to do to support women providing maternity care and supporting mothers in the first few months after the birth.’’
Genter is keen to improve ‘‘wraparound support’’ for women with perinatal depression and anxiety, but this will have to wait until the conclusion of the Government’s mental health inquiry later this year.
Contemplating parenthood has also made her question traditionally male-dominated transport planning.
‘‘Planning focusing on commuting hasn’t met the needs of mothers who could benefit from safe walking and cycling, and good public transport all day.’’
She wants to look at what we can learn from countries such as Sweden, Iceland or Finland, all of which have ‘‘far more generous’’ paid parental leave for both parents and ‘‘excellent, affordable’’ child care from a young age.
‘‘My child’s generation will have enormous challenges if we don’t start fixing those problems now. It’s really important for me that my child can walk and cycle to school in a clean and green country with affordable
housing.’’