Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

NEW CAMPAIGN GOES ‘BACK TO BASICS’ TO BEAT BABY BLUES

Women - it’s time to reclaim the coffee morning!

Monday 28th May: a national campaign launches today to bring back the humble coffee morning as a simple and effective way to provide support to new mothers at a time when they’re most susceptible to the baby blues.

Fronted by TV presenter and mother-of-two, Kaye Adams, and backed by the charity Cry-Sis and Colief Infant Drops, the ‘A Problem Shared’ campaign calls on today’s generation of mums to revive the coffee morning. The Campaign also hopes to get health visitors, who provide vital support to new mums, to champion the benefits of coffee mornings during their visits.

A recent survey* found that loneliness, lack of sleep and dealing with a crying baby are the hardest things to cope with for new mums, and that nearly half suffer due to a lack of adult interaction in the 1st few months following the birth of their child.

Often dismissed as idle chit-chat or time-wasting, the coffee morning is a vital source of support for new mums and an effective and natural alternative to resorting to modern-day medicines such as sleeping pills and anti-depressants.

Elsie Matthewman, Chair of Cry-sis, the charity for parents with excessively crying babies commented:

“Today, many women’s social networks are formed around work so maternity leave can be a barrier to established sources of support - many find themselves living miles away from family and friends because of their job so being part of a community is harder than ever before. A coffee morning provides an ideal opportunity to share problems, such as dealing with a crying baby, feeding difficulties or lack of sleep, and to help relieve tensions.”

Jane Terry, a Health Visitor added:

“Peer support has been found to be an effective way of helping families, this is why I felt it was important to contribute to the A Problem Shared Campaign leaflet ‘Your Baby’s First Weeks’.”

As with many practical and profound solutions, the idea itself is very simple. A Problem Shared campaign website, www.problemshared.info, has been set up to help parents set up a coffee morning in their local area.

Mary Buckley, developer of Colief Infant Drops explains. “We wanted to support the campaign after receiving a large number of calls to our helpline from distressed new mothers asking for help and advice on areas from calming crying babies and expressing milk to finding other people to talk to locally.”

Bringing the Campaign to the Nation:

•We have case studies of women who found a way out of being frightened, alone and out-of-their-depth by setting up their own coffee mornings

•We can arrange for press/photography visits to see a coffee morning in action

•We have expert comment from Elsie Matthewman, chair of Cry-sis

•Coffee morning startup kits and campaign information are available at www.problemshared.info

•A FREE expert ‘Guide To Your Baby’s First Weeks’ can also be ordered or downloaded from the site

Notes to editors:

The campaign is sponsored by Colief Infant Drops. When babies show symptoms of colic, ruling out milk sensitivity is one of the 1st recommended steps. Colief Infant Drops contain the naturally-occurring enzyme lactase, which when added to the babies ‘usual milk’ (whether breast fed or formula), breaks down most of the lactose and makes the feed more easily digestible.

*Colief Parenting Survey of 3,500 parents, September 2006


Issued by:Pegasus Public Relations

On behalf of:Colief

Press enquiries:Sallyanne Jones (01903) 821550

Email:sjones@pegasuspr.co.uk