I required the help of the Family Care Centre on two occasions in my son’s first year. On both occasions we required help for Max’s unsettled behaviour and sleeping problems - he woke every hour for the first two and a half months. I was so sleep deprived and emotional that it was hard for me to function like a normal person. I was emotional all day and night and it was affecting the whole family.

By the time I contacted the Family Care Centre I was at the end of my tether and then to be told that I would have to wait a further three weeks until they had a vacancy was devastating. When I finally decided that I needed help I was an emotional wreck and exhausted that waiting a further three weeks was like waiting a year. Unfortunately they only have the facilities to help a small number of babies a day and the demand for the help outweighs the support available.

We finally attended the Family Care Centre and the transformation in our lives was amazing. They helped us with settling techniques, feeding routines and daily routines, and after a week of changing things in our home we both got more sleep and started to enjoy ourselves more as mum and bub.

I never expected to have problems once I brought my little boy home from hospital, I thought motherhood would come naturally but unfortunately it didn’t. The understanding and reassurance from the ladies at the Family Care Centre turned my life as a new mum from emotional and at times unbearable to a mum that has enjoyed every new moment and change in Max’s life.

We have used the facility twice as sleep patterns/routines change during the first year and we required further help after six months. Again we had to wait three weeks to use the service. I also attend the weekly mothers group at the Family Care Centre and have on numerous occasions popped in and asked the ladies questions as they have come up and they have always given me sound and helpful advice.

Eight out of the nine families from our ante-natal class have used the service since their babies were born and have been helped with issues such as postnatal distress, breastfeeding problems, sleep problems, and feeding just to name a few.

This is an essential service for the Northern Rivers area. Without it a lot of problems would go undetected and families would have to go through the trying early months alone. Families in this area desperately need the help and support of the Northern Rivers Family Care Centre; we shouldn’t have to travel to places like Newcastle or Brisbane as this would be a further strain on the family and besides, it isn’t an option for most families.

Rachel Shannon-Hooper, Ballina