Come and share stories about positive support you've had from other women :-)

MNers, particularly the feminists. Changed my world with their support.

Was reading Ina May Gaskin's guide to childbirth last night, and that felt really supportive. The whole ethos of it is sisterhood. Just a book I know, but still. There was a story that really stuck with me about a woman who was struggling, so another woman lay down with her, belly to belly, face to face, and went through the contractions with her. (you probably have up read it)

Loads of times women friends have helped me out, lent me money, let me rant on about my miseries, brought me tea and aspirins when hungover, given me things.... and I've done the same for them.

I gave birth with my mum and a close female friend there and it was brilliant. (Though we are on great terms now, DS' dad and I were not speaking through most of the pregnancy and I didn't want him at the birth).

Nah the NCT (National Childbirth Trust) was set up by a group of women after experiencing the horrendous experience of birth in UK in the 1950s. I have to say both my antenatal group and the branch in general have been a real life saver after having ds. It's pretty much exclusively women and they're all kind, friendly and capable types.

I have some great female friends I made at work years ago. Including one who put me and another colleague up when we were stranded by snow. I don't see them that often but when I do it's like I've never been away.

When I broke up with a useless cock lodger and wanted to move out of the flat I had no less than 5 friends offer me a room for as long as I wanted. 4 of them were women (the fifth ended up being future dh!) and none of them made me feel they were doing it out of obligation or just saying it. I was really touched and felt really blessed.

I am in a psychiatric unit and my female friends have been beyond amazing.

One of them drove me here because my DH couldn't face it and it meant I could come with a friend and not a stranger from the crisis team.

They have texted me every single day and when they have a spare afternoon or evening have come and picked me up and taken me out shopping or for a coffee, no questions and no judgement. They have texted me asking if I needed anything and dropped it off even if they could not see me because I was with a doctor or not feeling well.

They have listened without flinching as I describe some horrible things and have not changed in the way they are to me. Nobody (as far as I know!) has had an unkind word to say about me being here. Just support beyond anything I expected.

Yep, I am fine and dandy and in control of my blood sugar. No more hospitals for me.

I met a fellow MNetter here, we seem to be the only ones at the mo. She's lovely and it's been really great to meet up and chat.

It was quite traumatic to say the least, LRD. Although, much of it in retrospect. As I slid in and out of a coma in the ambulance I can remember wondering why the sirens were blazing. I only realised vaguely that I was on death's door when in casualty they couldn't get a line in me for a drip and I started to understand the urgent conversations being undertaken. And even then I thought they were talking about someone else....

The Belgian MNetters are all lovely too. There are quite a few of us now. I know of many cases, where after giving lots of advice on MN to people moving here, friends have actually physically gone to help sort out estate agents and school places.

The local version of the NCT also offers LOTS of support to "expats" too. I guess in many cases it is still the DH with the "job" and the wife is the trailing spouse (though I personally know a few exceptions to this - hurrah!). I now know a great network of women who give advice and help each other out when they can. Much more so than I ever did in the UK, where I just had my personal friends to call on.

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You're doing a stirling job as always LRD. :)

Crossed the Atlantic.
sorry.

I once crossed to Atlantic to attend a work event. I met various women at said event and we travelled back to the city where I was due to fly out from together (they lived there). I felt extremely unwell and had done for some days. One of the woman offered to take me to see a doctor the next day (- day before I was due to fly back). That night I feel into a diabetic coma (previously I was unaware that I was a diabetic). The woman came to pick me up in the morning and when she couldn't get me to answer she went for the owner of guesthouse I was staying in. When they found me, they called an ambulance and the woman accompanied me to hospital. I was in intensive care for a few days while my blood sugar was controlled and in hospital a further ten until I was allowed to leave. This woman came and visited me nearly everyday, bringing me stuff and generally being useful in a way that hospitals in that country expect of relations (ie, most non expert nursing duties). The other woman also visited regularly, she also went and fought with the airline and got my flight changed twice. She also investigated my handbag and found my DH's details and informed him what happened.
Back here,when this was all known I was deluged by phone calls from female colleagues and acquaintances asking how I was. A group of mainly female friends clubbed together and paid for my DH to fly to see me and accompany me back home.
I have never felt so looked after and loved in my life. I had only been in the country I currently reside for a short time by that point and had few real friends, I also knew nobody in the country where I fell ill. I was overwhelmed by it all tbh.

Lovely idea for a thread, and I have some things to add, but a little bit uncomfortable about one of the participants and afraid this might all go wrong. So, marking my lace for tomorrow in the hope that I'm wrong. :)

I've found an incredible sense of community from women on mumsnet especially- the shineys thread, who'll I'll always be friends with, we've really seen each other through thick and thin. Shiney saved Christmas for me by sending my eldest some presents after I'd mentioned that i had no surprise presents for her, just something I'd bought that dd knew about. She sent a parcel of lovely little surprises, and insisted I didnt say it wasn't from me. And other more ad hoc groups and individual friendships since. I feel really privileged to have got to know some people here. When people bang on about bitchiness and bullying here, they are totally missing what actually goes on.