Those who have had a baby during the last year have faced a very different experience of parenting. Lockdown rules have meant that some mothers were alone for scans, or even during labour. Parents were not always able attend antenatal classes, or introduce their newborn to friends and relatives for weeks or months after the birth.
For some new parents, working from home has also had an impact on their experience – for better or worse. Many reported finding the experience isolating and struggled without the respite provided by childminders and grandparents – but others embraced the chance to cocoon as a family, without so many outside commitments or distractions.
With this in mind, we’d love to know what those who had a baby during the past year learned from the experience. Were there any advantages to parenting a newborn during lockdown? And what do you hope might change as the UK begins to unlock?
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