This thesis had four-main objectives. In the first instance, it aimed to improve understanding of psychosocial variables which may mediate the quality of Māori childbirth experience, namely: social support, coping strategies, cognitive appraisal, ethnic identity and psychological wellbeing. Secondly, it aimed to examine the relationship between these variables and the quality of childbirth experience. Thirdly, this thesis aimed to develop and pilot-test an instrument for the measurement of waiora among Māori. And fourthly, this thesis aimed to test whether waiora was a predictor of participants' childbirth experience. Thirty-one self-identified Māori women took part in the research. All participants gave birth at Thames Hospital in Hauraki during 1994. Attention is drawn to various ethical and methodological issues which have importance in the development of kaupapa Māori and Māori centred health research paradigms, such as, the role of koha, the validity of kanohi-ki-te-kanohi recruitment strategies and the need for collaborative decision-making processes. Prenatal waiora, ethnic identity, cognitive appraisal, coping strategies and social support predicted both quantitative and qualitative indicators of perinatal outcome. Obstetric technology was a very strong predictor of maternal postpartum perceptions and feelings of satisfaction or wellbeing. A preliminary model of the relationship between prenatal and perinatal predictors of Māori childbirth experience is presented. This research identifies the need to develop knowledge on psychosocial mediators of Māori childbirth experience. It is likely, however, that the quality of Māori childbirth experience will benefit from strategies which foster feelings of waiora and ethnic identity. The likelihood of a relationship between waiora and te ao Māori childbirth resources may hold particular interest for Māori. A range of strategies to improve the reliability and validity of Hōmai te Waiora ki Ahau as a tool for the measurement of waiora have been identified. As an outcome measure, this tool may have value in a range of contexts.