Miriama's message of hope “THERE'S A REAL MAGIC TO AGEING'

The Sunday presenter opens up to Emma Clifton about miscarriage, menopause and busting down the taboos surrounding women's health.

- Emma Clifton

There are certain topics that are so shrouded in secrecy that even in the closest of friendships, a level of “don't ask, don't tell” can exist. And then there is broadcaster Miriama Kamo, the host of TVNZ's current affairs show Sunday, who is so determined to break this taboo, she's literally written a keynote address about it.

It's what she calls “The Four Ms” and it's a speech she's been giving to various groups over the past few years, says Miriama, 48, explaining that it covers the steps along the reproductive journey that she has walked alongside so many other women - menstruation, miscarriage, motherhood and menopause.

Each an entire odyssey in its own right, they are experiences shared by many but discussed by few. And as part of her role as one of our leading news people, Miriama sees it as a responsibility to open up these conversations because she's learned first-hand how lonely silence can be.

As she lists off “The Four Ms” while on a Zoom call from her Auckland home, the facts that make up the backbone of this speech don't make for easy listening. Miriama suffered from endometriosis, a reproductive condition where uterine tissue grows outside of the uterus, which can lead to crippling pain and infertility issues.

She and husband Michael Dreaver went through six miscarriages on their way to growing a family. Her experiences with motherhood are as high and low as anybody's, she says. “Any mother can roll out a million stories, I'm sure, of the judgement you feel as mothers - the failures but also the great triumphs.”