Pregnant women and new mums in the Thetford area are getting more support and advice, thanks to the opening of a new meeting place.More than a dozen women and their children gathered at the town's United Reformed Church today to celebrate the official opening of the Bumps and Babies Café.

Pregnant women and new mums in the Thetford area are getting more support and advice, thanks to the opening of a new meeting place.

More than a dozen women and their children gathered at the town's United Reformed Church today to celebrate the official opening of the Bumps and Babies Café.

The free support group, which was first formed at the end of last year following the closure of the Thetford Breastfeeding Café, is hoping to encourage more expectant mothers and families with babies to attend the weekly coffee mornings.

Mother-of-one Caroline Foot, who helped set up the café run by local mums, said the aim was to create an informal place for pregnant women and parents to make friends, share child raring advice, and get qualified breastfeeding and healthcare support.

“New mums can feel quite isolated, so it is nice to come and meet new people and get to know each other and have a chat about babies and children over a coffee. The best advice you can get is from other mums,” she said.

The Bumps and Babies Café is open every Monday between 9.30am and 11.30am at the church in Earls Street, Thetford.

Sam Waite, from Barnham, mother to four-month-old Ruby, said there were no other places like the café in the area and it was “lovely” to talk about babies with other mothers without having to bore her friends who did not have children.