Providing support to new parents is one of the most important things the NCT does.

Wherever you live, whatever your circumstances, becoming a parent for the first time turns your world upside down. Suddenly there's a small thing bawling in your arms 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As Kate Figes said in Life after Birth: you can look back on the island that was life before children, but you can't go back there.

Most people find the transition tough, particularly if their families aren't close by or if they feel abruptly cut off from friends and work colleagues. One of the roles of the NCT is to help people re-orientate themselves as parents - to meet other people with small children and to share experiences, ideas and practical information.

The Clapham NCT has a team of enormously dedicated postnatal supporters who expend a great deal of time, energy and effort to contact new parents and help them meet other people in their neighbourhoods with children of a similar age. As an NCT member, you will be invited to a coffee morning or tea, and given the chance to make new friends.

But we also need you to help us. We can design the most fool-proof process in the world, but there'll always be people who fall through it. So please: if you're a new parent and NCT member, and you're sitting at home wondering why no one from the NCT has been in touch with you, please email us on postnatal@claphamnct.com.