The authors are grateful to the mothers and staff from the support group and representatives from the local health and library services, who all very generously shared their time and experiences. Structured AbstractPurpose The study investigates the everyday life information seeking behaviours of first-time mothers, as they encounter new, significant and pressing information needs which arise alongside their new responsibilities.Design/methodology/approach -A qualitative approach, combining narrative interviews with participatory methods to facilitate engagement and remain sensitive to the social context.Findings -Mothers particularly valued the experiential nature of information received from peers or family members. However, fear of judgment influenced their use of interpersonal sources, both onand off-line. Their accounts of information seeking contained instances of confusion, tension, conflict, and information overload. F information needs from others, including healthcare professionals.Research limitations/implications -There was a notable absence of younger (<20 y.o.) and/or less educated mothers in the study. This corresponds to previous findings which report that very young mothers are reluctant to participate in support groups with older mothers. They remain an understudied and potentially marginalised group. Practical implications -The findings show how social support groups can mitigate for societal information within a trusted environment. The study highlights the importance of healthcare and information services professionals remaining sensitive to such pressures. Relatedly, the finding that public libraries are used very little has implications for audience engagement and service provision.Originality/value -Focused upon firstof parenthood, the study provides insight into how relationships and experiences with information gatekeepers and others influences information seeking behaviours. Provides evidence that fear of judgment can influence information seeking behaviour, helping us to understand why some information sources, although considered important and useful, can be used very little.

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This study investigates the information needs of young first time mothers through a qualitative content analysis of 266 selected posts to a major online discussion group. Our analysis reveals three main categories of need: needs around how to create a positive environment for a child, needs around a mother's relationships and well-being and needs around child development and health. We demonstrate the similarities of this scheme to needs uncovered in other studies and how our classification of needs is more comprehensive than those in previous studies. A critical distinction in our results is between two types of need presentation, distinguishing between situational and informational needs. Situational needs are narrative descriptions of a problematic situations whereas informational needs are need statements with a clear request. Distinguishing between these two types of needs sheds new light on how information needs develop. We conclude with a discussion on the implication of our results for young mothers and information providers.