BABIES don't arrive with instruction books.

Instinct and intuition plays a vital part in the parenthood journey, along with support and advice from our nearest and dearest and, of course, those in the know.

Sharing experiences and being able to access advice and support can be particularly beneficial to mums during pregnancy or for those who may be struggling in the first few months as they battle with the demands of a new baby and sleep deprivation.

Being home alone with a newborn can be daunting for some which is why some mums can feel lonely and isolated, particularly if distance separates them from close family and friends.

Conscious of this, and eager to help new mums who may be seeking support, Claire Morritt has designed a special app which, she believes, is the first audio forum for Mums in the World.

They say good ideas develop from need and that can be said of the 34-year-old mum-of-two who was inspired to create the audio app through the struggles she faced during her pregnancy with her son, Joseph, four.

Claire, who also has a five-month-old daughter Gabriella, was diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her first pregnancy. She recalls being told on the Friday and spending the weekend worrying about it.

“My pregnancy with Joseph was textbook, everything was going exactly as it was supposed to be, until at 37 weeks, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I was well within a healthy BMI, had a healthy lifestyle, and it was a real shock to me.

“I immediately began Googling it and found posts on mums’ forums, but they were all a few years old – what I wanted to do was talk to someone who was going through it then, like I was.

“It got my brain ticking – when you hear someone’s voice, there is empathy there, a connection.”

The idea stayed with her into her second pregnancy, when she “commandeered” web developers at her husband’s eLearning company, Webanywhere previously based in Keighley and now based in Leeds, to develop the app.

Since its recent launch, Mumsanywhere app has been downloaded more than 1,000 times and is now connecting mothers around the world using audio voices.

“Sometimes all you want is to talk to someone – for someone to reassure you that everything is OK, and you can get through a tough time,” said founder Claire Morritt.

Users post a topic, query or comment through a 20 second voice clip which other mums can respond to in real time with their own voice notes.

Claire says hearing someone talking can be comforting. "There is something really comforting about hearing somebody's voice.

"It's a lot more personable than reading some text for a mum who wants that comfort at a very vulnerable time in her life."

Celebrity mums including Amy Childs, the reality television personality, and welsh model, Imogen Thomas, are already supporting the development.

"I managed to contact some celebrities through Instagram and they said it was something they would like to be part of," explains Claire.

Claire believes the app also has the potential to help new mums who might be lonely or isolated. Research by the charity Action for Children shows that more than a quarter of Yorkshire mothers say loneliness is a problem for them.

“I wanted to create a community where you can bounce off one another, moan when we have a bad day, and share out frustrations with parenting. There are a lot of mums out there that don’t have a great support system, and need a bit of reassurance," explains Claire.

“There are apps out there for meeting up with local mums but not everyone has the confidence to meet up for a coffee with someone they don’t know. They are the most vulnerable, the ones who don’t want to leave the house. But they still want to talk to someone, to reaffirm that what they are going through is totally normal.”

Since the app was launched members have already sought advice on a range of issues from breastfeeding to teething and sleeping through the night to weaning.

"You don't have to speak on it, you can just listen and listening can sometimes be more powerful than speaking," says Claire.

She plans to ask “experts” such as midwives to ‘Mumsanywhere’ to give support post-birth, and with capacity for a million members, she hopes to see it grow.

“We already have mums registered from as far as Australia, and my vision is to get women across the world offering support and advice,” she said.

“Becoming a mum for the first time can be a massive culture shock, but we all have one thing in common and that is our children. I believe so passionately in this and its ability to help mums who need a bit of reassurance.

"It is the hardest job in the world but if we can support each other we can get through it together."