The breakdown of traditional support patterns has made new British mums increasingly reliant on social networking sites, reports Jonathan Brown.
New mothers in Britain are battling a growing tide of isolation as they move further away from their traditional network of family and friends.
Research has revealed that a third of young
mums now live 64km from parents and siblings when they give birth to their first child, with one in four admitting they don't know any other parents in their area.
The breakdown of traditional support networks has made women increasingly reliant on online networking sites such as Mumsnet and Netmums for advice, according to the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). One in five women admits to going online in search of advice about issues such as breastfeeding and sleep training.
But despite the wealth of information available online, a significant proportion of British parents are struggling to cope.
The NCT warned that the threatened closure of state-funded child centres could make matters even harder for new mums.
Sally Horrox, the NCT's director of communications, said it was vital women had places where they could meet face-to-face. Often women's lives revolve around their careers and colleagues. It is only after they have a baby that they find they need to get involved in their community, she said.
Susan Ashbourne, a psychologist, said women who move away from their friends and family are more vulnerable to post-natal depression than those who stay close by. But that is not the only problem they face, she said. Women can find themselves under financial pressure after having babies because they have lost their income. They are dealing with changes in their relationship with their partner. These challenges are easier to face if they build networks around them during pregnancy and the post-natal period.
Although up to 80 per cent of mothers suffer from baby blues just after giving birth, one in 10 goes on to develop full post-natal depression.
Women interviewed by the NCT, which enrols up to 40,000 parents a year on ante- and post-natal courses, said group meetings helped them cope with the early stresses. Some said good friends were at work and they had no one to meet up with, while others described feeling trauma at having no one to talk to about child ailments.
Sites such as Mumsnet have helped to meet the gap in traditional sources of support. It now boasts more than one million users.
