PREGNANT women, new families and children have “been forgotten” in the government’s handling of the coronavirus lockdown and easing of restrictions, a local support group has claimed.
Expectant mothers, those at home with babies and pre-schoolers, parents who had not yet returned to work or had not started their child at nursery and previously relied on relatives or friends for childcare help saw their worlds “shrink” as baby and toddler groups – which can provide the lifelines of routine and social interaction – suddenly stopped.
And five months on, despite the reopening of shops, cafes and pubs, childcare nurseries and some schools, some parents are still left struggling with isolation due to a lack of central guidance for support groups to start to reopen.
Charlotte Pidgeon, who runs the Baby Café in Frome said, “It has had a huge impact, especially on new parents who need more urgent face to face support. NCT (parent support charity) is working through guidance to allow us to reopen but at the moment it looks like outdoor ‘walk and talk’ type events may be the first option rather than a return to indoor toddler groups and baby cafe.”
In a bid to continue to provide their services, many groups tried to take them online but Charlotte said attendance and engagement with social media for her group was low, so to protect volunteers’ mental health everyone had stepped back.
“The feedback I get most often [from parents] is, ‘If I can go to a cafe or pub with my baby and a friend, then why can’t we come to baby cafe?’ – which is obviously very hard to answer!” she said. “It is a source of disappointment and frustration… and as usual it feels as if pregnant women, new families and children have been forgotten.”
Herself a mother to two children under four, she said, “We have seen our world shrink dramatically. We really miss friends and family.”
Charlotte added that local antenatal teacher and breastfeeding counsellor Katherine Woodbury had been offering support over the phone throughout lockdown and had been very busy.
