Finding More Than Support on Online Parenting Sites

Since the popularity of the personal computer in the 1980's and the advent of the Internet in the 90's, an increasing number of people have been afforded the opportunity to lead a "modular" life. They can connect back to their corporate headquarters with a VPN, call home using services like Skype and use Webcams and blogs to communicate with family and friends all over the world. It is logical therefore that many more people are taking advantage of this technology and moving away from their families in search of greener pastures in cities across the country and the world.

It is not surprising then that many women, especially first time mothers, turn to the internet for answers and support during the pre-conception process, during pregnancy and afterward as an alternative to the family support and mothering that used to be the norm.

Before the information age, when my mother was having children, she was surrounded by her mother, sister, aunts and cousins. Although she was a stay at home mom, she had childcare available at her fingertips when she needed to take a sick child to the doctor or attend a volunteer meeting. She had help from her mother when she was first breastfeeding and help from her mother in law who stepped in and did the family cooking and cleaning while she was tending to her newborn.