First-time mothers look to online parenting forums for advice

Andrea Mara finds that first-time mothers are increasingly clicking on to websites to look for the support they need to help them cope.

FOR generations, new mothers lived near their own mothers, aunts and grandmothers, and it was to these wise women they turned to find out how to soothe a crying baby and when to start feeding solid food.

This generation however has lost that village — many mothers now live some distance from extended family, and very often, there’s nobody next door to help with parenting questions.