Support for new parents offered closer to home

Parents living in one of Norfolk's most deprived areas are being offered more support closer to home.

The weekly Nurture Cafe offers advice about breast feeding, sleep and development, with clinical experts attending the informal sessions in King's Lynn.

Cornerstone Baptist Church, in Wisbech Road, hosts the weekly sessions.

South Lynn is among the top 10% most deprived boroughs in England, and breast feeding levels in deprived communities are lower than the national average.

Child development and concerns about neurodivergence was one of the issues being discussed at the first session.

Alexandra Kemp, Progressive Group local ward member on both the county council and the borough council, said parents with questions about conditions such as autism and ADHD should be able to get help close to home.

"It's a bit daunting for parents to have to wait for several weeks, perhaps, or longer than that for some things," she said.

"It's so much more helpful if people can come and see professionals direct in a more informal setting.

"Parents often don't have cars and so this is why it's so important to have services on the doorstep."

One of those visiting the first Nurture Cafe was Gabriella Zubarevaite, 28, who had her son Kai 10 months ago.

Being a mother was not always easy, she said.

"I'm still adjusting... I came today for development review but also I want to kind of meet new people.

"I'm usually a very shy and quiet person so I struggle when I have to speak to someone.

"I think it's time to build confidence. It's a way to show a good example for him as well."

Cornerstone Baptist Church organises the sessions, but the Reverend June Love said there was not a religious side to it.

"We've got this wonderful space, this wonderful opportunity," she said.

"It's taken us pretty much a year to get everyone on board – all of the professionals.

"So my role is co-ordinating, hosting, making it all happen and just basically being here to welcome and point people in the right direction."

Love said one focus would be on supporting mothers to breastfeed, with areas of deprivation such as South Lynn having lower levels of breastfeeding.

Among those attending the support sessions were volunteers keen to share their own experience of parenting.

Former midwife Sue Chadock has four children and four grandchildren.

She said that even with her experience and medical background, it was difficult to know how best to support her own children when they were born.

"Mums are really in the limbo. They don't know the best thing to do for their baby," she said.

"They don't know what they should be doing, [and they are] asking questions like 'Are you allowed to lay them on their tummy, on their back, on their side?'

"I think anything that we can do to help them have self-confidence with their children and enjoy their children really would be brilliant."

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