Dr. Levine comments on “How to find Mommy Friends”

By Katherine Bontrager

At one time, 10 at night was the time you hit the town, instead of hitting the sheets. And 3 in the morning was when the bars closed and you feared nursing a hangover, instead of nursing a hungry infant. Ah, the difference one positive pregnancy test and a lifetime of love can make.

If you’re like many new young moms, you’re among the first of your friends to have children. This life change can be awkward terrain to navigate. While your friends are still living the carefree life, you’re carefully nurturing this incredible life you’ve been blessed with. And when you pick up the phone to call a friend, it can be hard to find someone with whom to trade breastfeeding tips instead of barhopping anecdotes.

To be honest, there’s nothing like the empathetic ear and helpful sounding board that a fellow mom provides. So how can new moms branch out and find other mommy friends while still maintaining friendships with their single or childless friends?…

Psychiatrists and psychologists have long heralded the importance of friendships in an individual’s emotional well-being. And for a young mom traversing the world of motherhood, such relationships are absolutely critical.

"Having friends to rely upon for trust, support and advice are essential at every stage of a woman’s life," says Dr. Irene S. Levine, author of Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend (Overlook Press, 2009) and a professor of psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine. "A growing body of research suggests that close friendships enhance a woman’s health and emotional well-being. Having a network of close friends is associated with lower blood pressure, decreased heart rate, lower cholesterol levels and decreased risk of depression."

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