‘Local centre was a lifeline for me as a new mum’

Having a child waseverything I had wished for after years of failed pregnancies, but what I had not prepared myself for was the sense of isolation and a feeling of being overwhelmed.

Yet I was lucky. Not only did I have a supportive husband and family, but I had an excellent children and family centre nearby – a place I had come to know during my midwife appointments.

The centre was not only the place where I had my baby weighed – at first on a weekly basis – but it held breastfeeding clinics where I could access support and advice.

There was also a free dropin playgroup and information on different mother and baby clubs available.

For me, this was a place where if I needed to get out of the house I could visit.

There were always people I could talk to and, as a first time mum, it gave me the chance to meet other parents – vitally important so you know you are not alone.

The middle of the night messages with other new mums when our babies would not sleep helped all of us ‘get through’ this period of time.

I was lucky I was able to use the centre for the first four months of my daughter’s life. Then the pandemic, and subsequent lockdown, happened and everything stopped. No more weigh-ins, no more drop-in playgroups, no more meeting other mums.

For new mums since the lockdown, not having that lifeline must be incredibly hard. And the thought maybe those children and family centres will not come back at all following news West Sussex County Council plans on permanently closing a large number of them is of great concern. Where will new parents go now? Where will the regular health checks take place; the support groups; the free playgroup; the casual drop-ins.

I have used the word lifeline in this article and that is because I really do consider it was a lifeline for me.

It helped me go from being a nervous mum who felt overwhelmed, unsure of what to do and adrift (my husband came home one day to find me in floods of tears declaring I needed to go back to work because I clearly was not cut out to be a mum) to someone who blossomed and began to really enjoy it and realise I could do this role.

My daughter is now 14 months and I hope if she is ever lucky enough to have a sister or brother that the children’s centre will be there to offer the lifeline that was available.

I realise the county council needs to make budget cuts but I just hope this can be weighed up against the need for new parents to access support within their local community.