Published Hawaiʻi Data
Official maternal health information helps us understand statewide patterns, known gaps, and questions that need deeper attention.
Project 01 · Maternal Health
A project of Hoʻōla ʻŌiwi Foundation
Waiū
Listening to mothers.
Strengthening families.
Shaping future care.
Project overview
Our Work Begins With Listening
Waiū is a developing maternal health project of Hoʻōla ʻŌiwi Foundation created to strengthen support for mothers and ʻohana across West Hawaiʻi and beyond.
Our focus includes breastfeeding, pumping, postpartum support, and breast pump access, especially among Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, rural, WIC, and Med-QUEST families.
We believe mothers should have a voice in shaping the systems, resources, and support created for them.
Understanding maternal needs in Hawaiʻi
Learning From Data and Lived Experience
Waiū brings several forms of knowledge together while keeping published data distinct from future community findings.
Voluntary Community Surveys
Future surveys can help us learn about pumping, postpartum support, breast pump access, work, school, and rural experiences.
Maternal Stories and Listening Sessions
Mothers bring context, strengths, and experiences that numbers alone cannot provide.
Research and Professional Guidance
University researchers and maternal health professionals can strengthen design, ethics, analysis, and interpretation.
Published Hawaiʻi data
What Existing Hawaiʻi Data Tells Us
Each visual shows its source, year, population and limitations. We do not combine measures from different years.
Last reviewed August 19, 2026
Published Hawaiʻi data · 2019
Hawaiʻi PRAMS breastfeeding measures
In the 2019 Hawaiʻi PRAMS sample, 94% of infants were offered breast milk at some point, 81% were receiving some breast milk at 8 weeks and 55% were exclusively breastfed at 8 weeks. HHDW calls the first measure offered breast milk at any point, so we use that same wording here.
Population: Women with a recent live birth in Hawaiʻi
Sample and limitation: 629 women surveyed statewide. Indicator denominators may vary because missing, refused, and unknown responses are excluded where applicable.
Source [1]: Hawaiʻi Health Data Warehouse, 2019 PRAMS Data Has Arrived. Accessed August 19, 2026.
Published Hawaiʻi data · 2024
Hawaiʻi hospital breastfeeding support scores
Ten Hawaiʻi maternity hospitals took part in the 2024 survey. The overall mPINC score was 78 out of 100. These scores describe hospital breastfeeding support practices and policies. They are not percentages of mothers who breastfed.
Population: Hawaiʻi hospitals with maternity care services that participated in CDC's mPINC survey
Sample and limitation: 10 of 12 eligible Hawaiʻi hospitals participated, an 83% participation rate.
Source [2]: CDC, 2024 mPINC State Scores by Region. Accessed August 19, 2026.
Historical · Focused on one community
Native Hawaiian WIC Research
A 2007 study looked back at records from one Waiʻanae Coast WIC community. It gives us useful local history, but it is not a current statewide estimate.
Waiʻanae Coast, Oʻahu
Population: Native Hawaiian or part Hawaiian WIC participants who had initiated breastfeeding
Sample: 200 participants; retrospective WIC records from 2003 to 2005
Feeding patterns through six months
38%Exclusively breastfed at initiation
18%Exclusively breastfed at 6 months
48%Weaned by 6 months
In this historical sample, 38% exclusively breastfed at initiation, 18% exclusively breastfed at six months and 48% had weaned by six months.
Evidence gap
The NHPI Research Gap
A 2016 systematic review found very little research that reported Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander breastfeeding experiences with enough specificity.
9eligible studies
44years spanned
Limiteddisaggregated NHPI data
Community knowledge gaps
What Public Data Does Not Tell Us
Public data cannot answer every practical question about pumping and postpartum life in each community.
Pump access
Who can obtain a breast pump, and where?
Cost and coverage
Who pays, and what do insurance programs cover?
Wearable preferences
Which pump formats fit daily life?
Fit and comfort
How do flange fit and comfort affect pumping?
Rural access
What differs across rural and neighbor island communities?
Work and school
What supports or limits pumping away from home?
Daily use
How important are cleaning, noise, portability, and battery life?
After discharge
What support reaches mothers after hospital care?
University and community research partnerships
Partner With the Waiū Project
We are seeking collaboration with professors, researchers, lactation professionals, nurses, and community health organizations.
Partner With the Waiū Project- Survey design
- Ethical research procedures
- Data analysis
- Culturally grounded community engagement
- Interpretation of findings
- Preparation of a public community needs report
From evidence to action
How the Waiū Project Will Respond
We will start with published research, listen to mothers and families, and ask qualified partners to help us understand what we hear.
- 01Published data
- 02Community surveys and stories
- 03University review and analysis
- 04Community findings
- 05Programs, partnerships, and advocacy
Together, these steps will help shape future programs, partnerships and advocacy.
Learning into action
How Findings Will Be Used
We will use what we learn to make careful choices about what to build and where help is needed.
A · Published Hawaiʻi Data
Official statewide and national data give us context about population patterns, care practices and known gaps.
B · Waiū Project Community Findings
Future surveys and stories will reflect the people who choose to take part. We will not claim they represent all Hawaiʻi mothers unless the study design supports that conclusion.
- Nonprofit maternal health programs
- Community education
- Resource distribution
- Partnerships
- Funding proposals
- Policy recommendations
- Future lactation support solutions
Transparency · A developing charitable goal
Free Breast Pump Access
The Foundation is working toward providing free breast pumps to eligible mothers through charitable funding and partnerships.
The Waiū Maternal Project is a nonprofit community program. Waiū by VHM is a separate, independently operated medical device business and is not affiliated with Hoʻōla ʻŌiwi Foundation.
Not yet available
Distribution has not begun, and no application or eligibility process is open.
Community Data Stewardship
Foundation participant data will be protected. Only authorized, deidentified findings may be shared with research or maternal health partners. Community information will not be used as product marketing.
Evidence and project history
A Learning Timeline
These entries used different methods and populations. They offer context, but they do not form one continuous dataset.
Waiʻanae Native Hawaiian WIC study
Historical research focused on one community using records from 2003 to 2005. Source [3]
NHPI breastfeeding systematic review
Nine eligible studies revealed limited disaggregated evidence and substantial variation. Source [4]
Academic topic development
Hilinaʻi Kane developed the maternal health topic and conducted preliminary research. This project history note is not evidence for a health statistic.
Current official Hawaiʻi data review
The Waiū Project reviewed HHDW, Hawaiʻi Department of Health and CDC materials. See sources [1], [2] and [5]
Planned community and university collaboration
Voluntary surveys, ethical guidance and research partnerships are still being developed. No findings have been produced yet.
Methods and citations
Sources and Research Notes
Each statistic stays connected to its original year, population and method. Access dates apply to online materials.
- Hawaiʻi Health Data Warehouse, Hawaiʻi Department of Health. Hawaiʻi Health Data Warehouse, 2019 PRAMS Data Has Arrived (2019 data; 629 women with a recent live birth in Hawaiʻi). Accessed August 19, 2026. Denominators may vary by indicator.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC, 2024 mPINC State Scores by Region (2024; 10 of 12 eligible Hawaiʻi maternity hospitals). Accessed August 19, 2026. Scores measure hospital practices and policies, not mothers’ breastfeeding outcomes.
- Joan E. Dodgson, Estelle Codier, Momi Kaiwi, Mary F. Oneha, and Ian Pagano. Breastfeeding Patterns in a Community of Native Hawaiian Mothers Participating in WIC (2007; Waiʻanae Coast, Oʻahu; N=200 Native Hawaiian or part Hawaiian WIC participants who initiated breastfeeding). This historical research focused on one WIC program. The records may contain recall or data entry errors. The findings do not represent Hawaiʻi today or all Native Hawaiian mothers.
- Ingrid K. Richards Adams and colleagues. Breastfeeding Practices among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (2016 systematic review; nine eligible studies spanning 44 years). The included studies used different populations, places, measures, and time periods. The review found high statistical variation, so its pooled estimates should not be read as current Hawaiʻi rates.
- Hawaiʻi Department of Health. Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Perinatal and Infant Health Population Overview (July 2024 working document; statewide overview drawing on multiple data systems). Accessed August 19, 2026. It is labeled a working document; some subgroup estimates were suppressed and subgroup sample sizes were not provided.
Growing carefully
Building Alongside Mothers and ʻOhana
Waiū is being developed carefully and in phases as the Foundation continues listening, developing partnerships, securing resources, and learning where we can make the greatest impact.
E mālama pū kākou i nā makuahine a me nā ʻohana.Let us care together for mothers and families.Connect With Us