We all have that close-knit set of friends growing up, but once you become a mum expect to transform into a social butterfly - according to research by the CLIC Sargent charity.
Having a baby needn't dampen your social life, as reserach has revealed that new mums see a boom in their friendship numbers after giving birth, increasing up to at least 8 like-minded friends.
Post-birth, 48% of the 4,000 mums polled felt that their main focus since having a baby has been establishing a 'circle of trust' with mums who they can trust and relate to.
It's not just the school gates where mums are meeting their new buddies, the nursery (32%) and coffee meetings (22%) also fared popular places for new friendship making.
But what happens to old (and maybe childless) friends after motherhood? Unfortunately for them, 6 out of 10 felt that other mums were more in tune with them and their everyday life as opposed to their classmates or old chums. Some even admitted that if they haven't spoken to a friend for 2 years, they cut contact altogether!
However, an increasingly popular place to meet fellow mamas is via the web. Net savvy mums meet regularly online and Facebook to keep in touch, according to the research. With 50% using emails to natter, four in 10 rely on text messaging and 1 in 5 use IM (Instant Messager) as a tool to stay in contact.
If you are looking for like-minded mums, why not check out the MadeForMums forum? Or keep up to date with the news and gossip on our Facebook page. Better still, why not follow us on Twitter? The list is endless!
