New Mom's Support Groups

[ma2be]

This might seem like a big request, but I find that mom's need this and you might be able to offer some suggestions where new moms can meet to find support.

I'm lucky enought to live in NYC where there are hundreds of mommy groups,luncheons, strollercize, etc.... My friends in Queens, Westchester and Long Island are home, lonely, depressed and constantly calling the hospital hotline for simple baby questions that need to be answered. I've told each of my friends to find something threw their doctors or hospitals but they can't find anything that's organized.

Would you know of any general organizations that gets moms together? That would be so helpful to add to your next book.

PS None of my mom friends have home computers!

[KathyO]

Another possible link to new-mother support groups is whatever agency offered your prenatal classes. Many of them also offer (or have links to agencies that offer) post-natal classes, and these are great both for answering your questions and getting you together with new mums who are in the same boat as you. Our postnatal group met weekly for a month and a half, then when the course ended, we kept getting together and are still going strong. We'll have to switch to evenings or weekends when the majority of the group goes back to work, but it's been a great source of commiseration, shared resources, and laughs!

KathyO

[alandenisefields]

Hi!

Thanks for using our message boards. Good question. Many of our readers have formed friendships and relationships with other parents at baby exercise groups like Gymboree or infant swimming/massage classes. Certainly, they should also begin informal playdates with other friends who have small children. As for a national organization, we don't have any information on one. We like the idea of contacting organizers of prenatal classes. They might have some options. Unfortunately, it is hard work to find the right connections as a new mom. If we hear of anything we'll be happy to post it to our web site.

best wishes,

alan and denise fields
authors, BABY BARGAINS

[nywifey]

There's the National Association of Mother's Center. www.motherscenter.org

[Geebee]

There are two organizations in my area that advertise through the local paper and at local libraries and such. Much of the advertising is through word of mouth.

I'm in Texas, and the two organizations are Early Childhood PTA (ECPTA) and Mom's Club. I belong to ECPTA and it is affiliated with the state and national PTAs.

Here's a website for the group to which I belong, so you can see what they offer.

http://www.myschoolonline.com/site/0,1876,47676-168805-51-70498,00.html

And here is a website that provides guidelines for organizing an ECPTA, if there isn't one in your area and you feel so inclined!

http://www.pta.org/programs/edulibr.htm#early

You can also try searching on "Early Childhood PTA" or "ECPTA" or "EC PTA" with "your town". (When I searched, I saw one in Illinois and one in Ohio, and I wasn't really looking!)

And here is a website for a Mom's Club, which appears to list all of them!

http://www.momsclub.org/links.html

I wish that there was an easy way to get info out to women, but I haven't found one. Every time I meet a mother who stays at home with preschoolers, I tell her about the ECPTA and what it offers. I am so thankful that I have this organization. I found out about it through my sister-in-law who lives in the same area.

I hope that helps!

[EKWalsh]

I've found a great group of mothers through Mothers & More (formerly FEMALE)...see their website at:

http://mothersandmore.org

The group is especially for "sequencing" mothers, those who have made career changes to accomodate motherhood (for myself, leaving a full-time position for freelance, at home work) but is open to everyone. They have local chapters and offer playgroups, activities for kids and moms as well as moms alone, meetings etc. Great group of women I've met so far. I've enjoyed the playgroups, outings and meetings.

And, as the Fields suggested, I've also met a lot of moms through my prenatal and postnatal exercize class, through infant massage and baby music classes, etc. But I've never been able to walk up to a mom with a stroller in the park, as I thought I might do before I had the baby. For this reason, I've found groups like Mothers and More to be great.

There's also MOMS Club, another national network - not sure of their web site, but you could do a search.

good luck!

[luvbeinmama]

I am a member, and board member, in my local MOMS Club chapter, and I love it! The web site for MOMS Club International is www.momsclub.org. This is a club for SAHMs although many of the moms do work p/t or out of home. You can go to the web site and request information on any local chapters for your friends, or maybe they would be interested in forming and advertising their own chapter! It's amazing how fast new chapters grow and actually have to split in order to keep the number of members to a reasonable level!! Our chapter is in the middle of our 2nd split in two years, and we are only 4 years old!! We do lots of group activities every month, have age-range playgroups, walking group, etc. Keeps me busy!

Other organizations I have heard of locally are Mothers & More (mentioned by someone else) and MOPS (Mothers of PreSchoolers), but I do not know how to contact them.

[Rachels]

A number of states have "Friends of Midwives" organization that you can find online by typing in "Massachusetts Friends of Midwives" (modify for whatever state you're in, obviously). Many of these organizations maintain directories of birthing and postpartum services, including new moms' groups. You don't have to have birthed with midwives to contact these resources; the groups in particular will cater to women with a wide range of philosophies.
-Rachel