Postnatal support

Getting Out and About

After you have been home from the hospital for a few weeks you may feel like you would like to get back out into the real world. Being at home with a newborn all day by yourself can feel quite isolating, fortunately there are organisations in the community that offer postnatal support are designed to help women move back into the community. In fact many women say that after giving birth to their child is the first time they have felt like they were part of the community. You will find that there are many women just like you who live in your local area.

Your hospital or birth centre will usually provide you with a contact name and number for your local postnatal support group. Their goal is to provide you with support in your new role of motherhood and one of the ways they do this is to establish “Mothers Groups”. These are usually informal affairs where local mums can get together over a cup of tea and learn and discuss all about their new babies and whatever takes their fancy. It is up to you if you wish to pursue these friendships beyond the early days at the health clinics and many mums report making life-long friends at these gatherings.

Another place for postnatal support is at your local playgroup. Playgroup gives you the opportunity to interact with other mums and your baby can also be stimulated by other children and toys. To find out more information about Playgroups and where to find your local playgroup visit the Playgroup Council of Australia. For New Zealand mums, chat to your local Plunket nurse about where a local postnatal support group is meeting that could meet your needs.

Many women have found friendship and postnatal support in their local community by visiting the Communities section of our Huggies Forum There are mums just like you all around; you just have to know where to look.