When Amy Boughner felt depressed in the months after the birth of her daughter Maggie, she blogged about it. 
When Melany Gallant was having trouble breastfeeding daughter Alison, she turned to Twitter. Itโs a sign of the times.
Issues that once drove women to their doctorsโ offices in tears or left them curled in the fetal position in their bedrooms have become trending topics and status lines on public social media sites. As a result, women are finding comfort and support online through blogs, online communities, Facebook and Twitter.
โI discovered this great community of moms,โ says Amy, 29. โYou meet them on
Twitter and then you start reading their blogs and you discover all the things youโve got in common.โ
Melany agrees. After having to supplement breastfeeding with formula once in a while, Melany went from feeling judgement every time she put a bottle to her babyโs lips, to having a network of women who knew exactly how she felt. โGoing online and reading blogs from other moms who had similar experiencesโฆ it just made me feel ok about it.โ
Itโs exactly why Maureen Dennis started Wee Welcome โ an online community aimed primarily at moms with children under the age of three. The company
was born out of Dennisโs own experiences trying to keep up with her pre-pregnancy social circles. When she found herself changing her week-old son on a restaurantโs bathroom floor during a lunch with girlfriends because there wasnโt an appropriate change table, she decided to find a way for moms to share information that would help to keep them socializing.
One hundred fifty women showed up to her first event and, six years later, more than 30,000 visitors a month turn to her site for tips and advice. The trend isnโt unique to Wee Welcome
According to Dr. Sidney Eve Matrix, an assistant professor in mass communications at Queens University, recent surveys show that 80 percent of Canadian women are online regularly and 40 percent of them are mothers.
Millenial mothers โ those born between 1977 and 1996 โ are even more likely to be engaged online. And, according to Matrix, those mothers are 60 percent more likely than average adults to use Facebook and Twitter.
EASY ACCESS
Part of the attraction for Amy was ease of access (right from her home computer) and variety of information (she could talk to moms who were going through post partum depression and moms whoโd survived it). And with a new baby in hand or underfoot, it can be tough to try to negotiate more traditional social channels. Thatโs not to say that the relationships stay online.
โItโs great to meet online and itโs awesome to have that support, but it doesnโt beat someone to go out to coffee with,โ she points out. Amy, who now attends a weekly momโs group in Ottawa, says she would have never gone
had she not been coaxed out by Twitter friends.
โI was terrified at the first one I went to and now I go every week,โ she says. โItโs one of the things Iโm going to miss the most when I go back to work. It was good for my daughter and itโs really good for me.โ
Melany, 37, was surprised at how quickly she began to develop meaningful relationships. โSometimes you just want to vent because your kid wonโt stop
screaming and you donโt know why,โ she offers. โ To be able to connect with other moms who are going through the exact same thing at the exact same time as you and then to be able to laugh about it is invaluable.โ
Having access to the inspiration of moms whoโve been there, done that (and survived) is a bonus. โInstead of just talking to my doctor, or waiting until I can talk to a friend on the phone or in person, itโs another resource,โ Melany says. โI can just quickly go on to Twitter or Facebook, or my blog, post my question and get some really valuable feedback in seconds.”
FIRST TIMER TIPS
Start where youโre most comfortable: If itโs on Facebook with a few close friends, thatโs fine. Share what you are comfortable with and follow groups that offer
you information on the areas you care about.
Google: Find the blogs that you can relate to. Seek out the online community that best fits your personality and style of parenting.
Sample Twitter: With itโs own language to learn and the possibility of following millions of people, it can be an overwhelming jump. Eavesdrop instead. Follow the people, experts, magazines and news agencies you trust and then see who they are following.
Stop thinking of social media as something new: Itโs a community just like any other community. The bonus: You donโt even have to get dressed, and if your baby cries, no one complains.
