Branch groups and support

Becoming a parent is a major life change and at times you may feel isolated, especially if you have moved to a new area or are having your first baby. This is where our branch aims to help by providing various groups and support. We have listed them all here to give an overview, but more details can be found on other pages.

Monthly Yahoo groups

 These are our online groups and the parents who join them are spread across the whole of Hackney and Islington, allowing access to a wider group of local mums outside your immediate postcode. Here you can share tips, ask questions, arrange get togethers, gain advice etc. They are set up around the time the members are 7mths pregnant, but are open to new members at any point after this. To sign up to a yahoo group for the month you are due please email your postcode, due date and a contact telephone number to duedate_hinct@yahoo.co.uk.

Postnatal tea groups

Once you have had your baby you may not want to be travelling too far from home at first. Our teagroups are a great way to meet and receive support from other parents, in your area, with babies of a similar age. These groups are deliberately kept small (6-8) to enable them to meet regularly in each others homes, or local cafes etc, and therefore bond quickly. Your tea group and monthly Yahoo group may have some overlap but they are different – the tea group covers two birth months but is local to your postcode area, while the Yahoo group is only for your due date month and covers the whole branch.

Each teagroup is hosted first of all in a local NCT volunteer's home, and provides an opportunity for you to put names to faces and exchange contact details with other parents. Your host will be a local mum who will happily share their experiences of bringing up a baby in your area, and can provide you with information of local activities. After this initial get together, you arrange to meet up with each other on your own. We have meetings in WC1/EC1, N1, N4/N5, N16, E5, E8/E9, N7 and N19. You can contact our teagroup coordinators for more information on teagroups_hinct@yahoo.co.uk. Members should automatically receive an invite via email if we know your due date. However, if you haven't heard from us by the time your baby is 4 weeks old, please contact us on teagroups_hinct@yahoo.co.uk with your details (baby's birthdate, your postcode and a contact phone number).  

Other yahoo groups

There are also several other yahoo groups for people at different stages of the parenting journey:

• The Home Birth Support Group – this group is for parents considering a home birth. To subscribe send a blank email to HINCT_homebirth-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk 
• Multiple Births Group – this group is for parents of twins and triplets. To subscribe send a blank email to HINCT_twins&multiples-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk 
• Around in the Week Group – this is for parents who have not returned to full time work following their maternity / paternity leave and are therefore around in the week looking after their children. This group provides a follow on from the monthly due date groups for parents with toddlers and beyond. To subscribe send a blank email to HINCT_aroundintheweek-subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk 
• More than one Group – this group is for parents of more than one child, or about to have their 2nd / 3rd etc. To subscribe send a blank email to HINCT_morethanone- subscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk

To keep up to date with branch events, team meetings, volunteering opportunities etc join our branch yahoo group by sending a blank email to HINCT-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To keep up to date with other events and activities in the local area like our Facebook page.  

Other support

Our home birth support group meets on the first Monday or Tuesday of every month from 8pm-9.30pm and welcomes pregnant women, their partners and / or birth partners and other interested parties (midwives etc) to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about home birth. The two volunteers who run the group have experience of both home and hospital birth and can help you with any questions you may have. There is also a birth pool available for FREE hire. Contact Cathy and Samantha at homebirth_hinct@yahoo.co.uk 

Caesarean birth/VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean birth) support. Please contact Melanie on caesarean_hinct@yahoo.co.uk for advice in this area

To hire a breastpump please contact Alison via pumphire_hinct@yahoo.co.uk

To hire a valley cushion please contact Venetia via valley_hinct@yahoo.co.uk