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A Sheffield family center offering support to new parents and children has been praised by the government.
The Primrose Family Hub in Walkley runs free activities, groups and advice sessions for expectant and new parents.
Cabinet Office Minister Georgia Gould visited the centre, where she said she hoped to learn from its work as part of national plans to help more disadvantaged families.
New mother Karen Dawson said parenthood can be lonely, but the advice and support offered at the hub was “incredibly helpful”.
Mrs Dawson, who has been a regular visitor to the hub since her son was born in August, said it provided a space to socialize and allowed her son to play with other toys.
“Being a mother can sometimes be quite lonely,” she says.
“I’m a single parent myself, so I don’t have a partner to help me. My friends come over and I go out, but it’s incredibly helpful to organize these events during the day.”
Specialist staff also offer one-to-one sessions at the centre.
“The breastfeeding support work is brilliant and when it comes to things like sleep regression it’s nice to just share the pain with other parents as it’s something we all go through,” Ms Dawson said.
Georgina Battey visited the hub with her 10-month-old baby and said she found it ‘really challenging but wonderful’ being a new parent.
“It’s really important to meet other mothers while you’re still in the early stages, to see that you’re not alone and that other people are going through hard things too,” she said.
Family hubs were a “fantastic place” to find that support, she said.
Minister Gould, who visited the hub on Wednesday, said she was “overwhelmed” by the services on offer.
“Many people use these fantastic services, but I think there are more who just don’t know about them,” she said.
“The work that happens here is very important, so we have to get behind projects like this.”
Gould, who has a 14-month-old baby herself, said the government could “learn” from the services in Sheffield.
“It can be quite lonely being a new mother, there is so much to learn all at once, but family hubs can help,” she said.
The Primrose Family Hub organizes activities including baby groups, toddler groups, speech and language support and baby massage, according to manager Catherine Ellison.
Midwives and health visitors also hold appointments on site.
“We try to work with the whole family and would like people to use us as a front door to find out what support is available to them,” Ms Ellison said.
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