Pregnancy & Birth

Julie Anne Genter cycles to hospital to be induced at 42 weeks pregnant

How very Green Party of her!

Most of us have tales of being driven carefully to hospital by our partner when we’re about to give birth. But not Green MP and Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter.

She cycled to Auckland City hospital with her partner over the weekend to be induced at 42 weeks.

The first-time mother shared on Instagram yesterday, “Beautiful Sunday morning for a bike ride, to the hospital, for an induction to finally have this baby. This is it, wish us luck!”

She said they’d chosen to cycle “because there wasn’t enough room in the car for the support crew…

“But it also put me in the best possible mood!” she added.

That has got to be a first for a very pregnant first-time mum!

At the annual conference of the Green Party, which was coincidentally also yesterday, Green Party co-leader James Shaw said that Genter’s choice of transport to hospital was “very on brand.”

Genter is also Associate Health and Transport Minister and Shaw will be assuming those portfolios while she is on maternity leave.

The pending arrival of Genter’s baby has come just two months after the birth of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s baby, Neve, on 21 June.

Ardern, who went by car to the hospital for her birth, returned to work just over two weeks ago after taking six weeks’ maternity leave.

Shaw said he was “proud to be living in a country where two members of the country’s executive are able to have children as part of their job.”

International media have picked up the unusual story.

Genter announced her pregnancy in February and revealed her big news to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on the same day Ardern announced her own pregnancy to the public.

Becoming pregnant has not been an easy road for the Green MP, who suffered two miscarriages before this pregnancy.

In March last year she opened up to the NZ Woman’s Weekly about her struggles to get pregnant, saying, “I’ve been really focused on my career so, until recently, having a child hadn’t been a big priority for me.

“But then I met Peter four years ago and we were so in love, it felt like the time was right.

“I never expected we’d have any problem getting pregnant – in fact, I didn’t. But I lost the pregnancy very early on. And then the next one at eight weeks. We tried for another year after that, but nothing happened.

“I’m quite a rational person and thought I could tell myself it simply wasn’t meant to be, but I was surprised at how intensely powerful my emotions were around the pregnancies and miscarriages. It affected me profoundly. It was upsetting and very sad for both of us.”

We look forward to the next update, which should be any time soon.

Related stories