The Traditional “Coffee Group” Is Changing

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

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