COVID-19 UPDATE: Many groups and classes are suspended or have moved online, please check directly with individual providers for the latest updates. This section will be updated in due course as services return to normal, in the meantime there’s a handy summary here of Antenatal & Postnatal Support-May 2021.
If you run a relevant activity or business that’s not listed yet (or if you’re a parent with a recommendation) please feel free to get in touch with details.
Basic listings are free, information on upgraded listings (with up to 200 words, social media links & photos) can be found here.
Bumps, Boobs and Babywearing support. Come for one of these things, come for two, come for three, we will welcome and support you whatever comes. Focussed on parent support, breastfeeding and parenting through the use of slings. Ran by trained volunteers, we support families through pregnancy and the early years.
Fortnightly Support Group
📅2nd and 4th Friday of every month, 10am-12pm
📌Teams Centre, Gateshead
Parent support group offering peer to peer listening ears. The sling library will be in attendance, you can have your own sling checked or try out another sling, or loan one (hire fees apply but please do make use of our families in need policy should you need it).
Parents in the Park
📅Last Saturday of every month, 11am-2pm
📌Saltwell Park, Gateshead
Come see us in the park! Qualified consultant and peer supporters offering listening ears and helping families through pregnancy and the early years. Bring the kids, have a play in the park, bring a picnic and make a day of it! We look forward to seeing you!
📌 Grange Villa Community Centre, Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, DH2 3LN
📆 Mon – Fri (plus private hire options on weekends and special events selected dates)
🕒 2h sessions from 9.30am – 3pm
👉 From £5 (sibling discounts available). Book here.
Dream Big is an amazing children’s role play centre, we also have a dedicated baby area & oodles of outdoor space! And of course a lovely cafe.
There’s a packed programme of weekly activities and special events, including:
Play sessions Sensory snug Baby massage Messy play Baby rhyme and social Sweaty Mama fitness class Baby weaning sessions Breastfeeding group run by a trained NHS breastfeeding peer supporter
My Expert Midwife is the most honest, straight-talking pre-and-post-natal product range for mums to be and new mums. Developed by Harrogate midwife and mum duo Lesley and Claire, the four launch products – Spritz for Bits, No Harm Nipple Balm, Fantastic Skin Elastic and Peri Prep Your Bits – have been designed to provide a highly-effective solution to the physical side effects of pregnancy, birth and motherhood.
From irritated, stretching skin and sore, cracked nipples to vaginal swelling, perineal tears and episiotomies, the My Expert Midwife range is specially formulated to soothe, calm, prevent infection and aid healing, providing women with the safest ingredients necessary to restore body confidence.
Order online from https://myexpertmidwife.com/ and receive free postage and packing.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
You can watch the Harrogate Mumbler product review of the “My Expert Midwife” range here!
Excuse the state of me on this late night video but I wanted to share these lovely products by My Expert Midwife straight away
Posted by Harrogate Mumbler News Page on Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Tel: 0191 433 6300
Baby weaning sessions led by a member of the Health Visiting team are held regularly across Gateshead Children’s Centres. Topics covered include: What is weaning? When should I start weaning? What food should I give?
Free, booking required.
Arch 22, Forth Goods Yard, off Forth Street, Newcastle, NE1 3PG
Tel: 0191 230 2273
A social enterprise offering peer-to-peer support using slings. You can hire or buy a sling or get help with using your own carrier. There are regular meets across the North East and daily drop in appointments at the sling clinic, plus on the 4th Saturday of each month there’s a free Family Drop In with play facilities for slings and socialising.
QE Maternity, Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, NE9 6SX
Tel: 0191 445 2763
Following a birth it can be helpful to talk through your experience with a midwife, particularly if things haven’t gone the way you expected, or if you just want to reflect on your experience. Contact the maternity unit to arrange an appointment.
Alternate Fridays 4.15 – 5.15pm
Dunston Activity Centre, Ellison Road, Dunston, NE11 9SS
Tel: 0191 425 2222
A friendly support group where parents can come together and share their week, with a good balance of good autism days and hard – as autism is awesome as well as hard. This is NOT a children’s play group but does have play facilities so children can come along. Refreshments available to purchase.
£2, drop in.
Concord House, Speculation Place, Washington, NE37 2AS
Tel: 07919 360 014
Providing information and support to new parents, with group sessions and 1:1 sessions in your home, including antenatal workshops, postnatal workshops, holistic sleep coaching and introducing solids. Also offering tongue tie treatment and breastfeeding help and support, including free drop-in weekly sessions in Birtley.
Introducing solids: from £20
Antenatal/postnatal/sleep coaching: from £40
Tongue tie treatment: from £175
Newcastle
Tel: 07704 569 289
@thekindmindlimited
Workshops on a range of topics delivered by experienced clinical psychologists, including: parents-to-be and parents with newborns, toddlers, primary school age and teens. Also individual psychology sessions for people who may prefer a bespoke service.
Workshops from £30.
1:1 sessions from £75.
65 Kells lane Low fell Gateshead NE9 5SJ
Tel: 0191 435 0560
Assessment, advice and LOCband treatment is available for babies with Positional Plagiocephaly – a condition in which specific areas of an infant’s head develop an abnormally flattened appearance.
Assessment (60 minutes): £50
Repositioning Review (30-40 minutes): £40
LOCband Treatment (approx 3-6 months): £1,950
Payment plans are available.
The Nest Café, 417-419 Durham Rd, Low Fell, Gateshead NE9 5AN
Tel: 0191 4414590
Free psychotherapy is provided for mums who are really struggling following the arrival of their little one.
37 Mere Knolls Road, Roker, Sunderland, SR6 9LG
Tel: 0191 548 3388
Pregnancy massage using specifically tailored techniques with pillows for support, suitable from 14 weeks. Physiotherapy can help to ease common pregnancy related pains. A Mummy MOT is recommended from 6 weeks after delivery to assess posture, breathing, abdominal muscles and pelvic floor to prevent health complaints.
Massage: 30 mins: £25. 60 mins: £40.
Physiotherapy: Consultation: £45. Review: £33.
Mummy MOT: Assessment: £75. Review: £45.
Tuesdays 1.30pm
Tesco Extra, Genesis Way, Consett, Durham, DH8 5XP
Support and social sessions are a chance for mammies, mammies to be and babies to be able to get together chat about what is on your mind, worries, little wins and experiences in a relaxed and friendly environment. Each session is facilitated by a registered Midwife.
£2 each to cover the cost of refreshments and resources.
Tel: 0191 433 6300
Weekly groups are held at Deckham Children’s Centre and Blaydon Winlaton Children’s Centre for children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families, with a range of activities including messy play, crafts, music and more. Delivered by experienced staff who can offer support and advice. Term time only.
Free, drop in.
Ages 0-5 years.
Tel: 0191 433 6300
Free weekly drop in sessions run all year round (including most school holidays) across Gateshead Children’s Centres, to support families with children from birth to 5 years old. Children can be weighed to monitor growth using your red book, and health visitors can provide 1:1 advice including on breastfeeding, hygiene, weaning, nutrition and safety. Some sessions also have Stay and Play facilities.
