5 September 2007
The face of the traditional “Coffee Group” is changing
The face of the traditional “Coffee Group” is changing. The age of the internet has brought with it a new type of
mothers group - one which provides the same support and social contact as more traditional coffee groups, but with a
wider scope - it is accessible to all, whether a working Mum, a stay-at-home Mum or even a rural Mum who would not
otherwise have much contact with other parents.
OHbaby!, New Zealand’s leading independent pregnancy and parenting website offers a message board which enables parents
from all over New Zealand, and indeed the world, to share ideas and advice 24- hours a day. We currently have 9500
members. Our members range from those planning a pregnancy to those whose children are approaching school age. On the
message boards we have “Due in…” groups for expectant parents and “Born in…” groups for new parents, as well as forums
for parents of toddlers and preschoolers, and for those planning a pregnancy.
Recently we launched a new area of the message board designed solely as a place where parents can support each other
through the more challenging aspects of their parenting journey: coping with infertility; life after miscarriage;
caesarian section support; living with postnatal depression and stillbirth/neonatal death, and our members have told us
they fi nd this service invaluable.
Back in 2003 when the OHbaby! message boards were brand new and had only a handful of active members, five mums got
together in central Auckland with OHbaby! founder Angela Pedersen at what was the first ever OHbaby! mums meet up.
This year, at the request of a huge number of our members, we’re planning the biggest OHbaby! mums meet up ever – the
OHbaby! Mega Meet Up in Wellington at Labour Weekend (20-22 Oct).
We’re hosting an offi cial lunch at Te Papa on Saturday 20th October 2007 and expecting up to 100 mums from all over the
country to attend.
The OHbaby! Mega Meet Up is being sponsored by Johnson’s Baby, Purell and Stayfree, and there will be goody bags for
everyone who attends, plus some awesome giveaways and spot prizes. It will be the biggest ever New Zealand gathering of
parents who have met online, and we’re anticipating it will become an annual event.
The OHbaby! Mega Meet Up 2007 will be biggest ever gathering of New Zealanders who have met online, and through
promotion will also be a great opportunity for other New Zealanders to discover the vibrant local parenting communities
that exist online.
ENDS