Parents connect for support on web

Which pram is better - Phil & Teds or Mountain Buggy?
What do you do about your baby's flat head?
Does "cry it" out really work, because it seems so cruel?
These are all real questions asked by real mums in recent months.
But while in the past first-time parents might have turned to their Plunket nurse or read a book, these questions were all asked on Facebook.
Mothers are increasingly turning to the internet for advice on parenting, encouragement and just to feel connected.
More than 41 per cent of New Zealanders are signed up to Facebook and women are the biggest users.
About 70 per cent of users are between 16 and 44.
So it makes sense that plenty of mums are linked up through social networking sites.
Tauranga mum Shannon Cantley, mum to 1-year-old Rico, says Facebook is "probably my main communication" with friends.
"I use it for messages, to see what people are up to, telling people what's been going on in my life."
She also posts photos of Rico, who had his first birthday at the beginning of the month.
Miss Cantley says plenty of mums use the social networking site as a forum to ask questions and she's given advice herself on subjects such as prams, baby baths and shopping.
"I wouldn't have got the pram I got if someone had told me."
The 30-year-old says she prefers to talk to her friends in person and would still turn to her midwife or Plunket nurse if she had a question on a health-related topic.
But she enjoys the support and feedback she receives when she posts on Facebook.
"[I've put things like] 'I've got lots of stuff to do but I'm really tired, do I go for a sleep?'.
"It is nice when people respond and even when they just like your status and photos."
Miss Cantley, a primary school teacher who will return to fulltime work next year, is signed up to OhBaby and BabyCenter websites and receives email newsletters from those sites.
If she had a parenting question, she would be more likely to turn to those websites than her Facebook status update, she said.
She's conscious of not overwhelming her Facebook friends with details of motherhood.
"I'm not sure everyone on my Facebook wants to hear about everything to do with my baby and life as a mum.
"I sometimes feel a lot of it may come across as complaining and I don't want that to come across."
Mums with children with special needs are also turning to Facebook for support and advice.
Rural Tauranga mum Lis Eynon's daughter Rosie-Jo, 5, has autism. Mrs Eynon is also mum to 3-year-old Billy.
"We live rurally, so you feel a little bit disconnected to the world really when you live remotely. I got online because I was really desperate for some answers, for some help.
"[Before that] no one could really help me - the doctors and professionals couldn't help me with the problems we were having."
On Facebook, Mrs Eynon found autism expert Donna Williams, who has written several books on the subject and has the condition herself.
She joined Ms Williams' Facebook page, which has 1500 members, and instantly found a support network that includes parents and autism sufferers.
"We have these discussions on there and are getting perspectives from every point of view.
"Anyone can try and answer your questions that you have always wanted to know the answer to. It's a really good way of sharing knowledge.
"Thanks to this wonderful technology parents are coming together to gain information that can help their kids. For instance I have been talking to an Indonesian lady I met through Donna's Facebook page. She has a daughter the same age with similar difficulties and we can support each other."