MAMA

Tel (helpline): 0845 120 3746 - Weekdays 7pm - 10pm
Web: www.mama.co.uk

MAMA (the Meet A Mum Association) is a nationwide organisation which was launched in 1979 by Esther Rantzen and Woman magazine. It is now a registered charity aimed at providing a network of care to help all mothers and mothers-to-be. Details of their services are as follows.

• Groups can alleviate the feelings of isolation and loneliness often experienced by new mothers. These feelings can sometimes lead to, or be part of, postnatal illness.
• Mothers suffering from postnatal illness can call MAMA's helpline. The helpline offers telephone support for sufferers of post-natal illness (PNI) and their families. Calls are answered by trained volunteers, many of whom have suffered from PNI in the past.
• MAMA has produced publications, available for a small fee, on postnatal illness, the effects of a new baby on the family, difficulties faced by women following childbirth and how to support a woman with PNI. There is also a range of leaflets and factsheets, free to mothers, with information on coping with PNI, panic attacks, relaxation techniques and notes for the carer.