The Duchess of Cambridge has spoken about the lack of information available for new mothers, saying it can make the early days of parenthood "so hard".

The Duchess, who has three children, admitted that even with the support of her family and a nanny at home, she too had found useful advice "fell away" as babies grew older.

Speaking as she launched a new helpline for families, she moved to reassure parents that even she did not find it easy, telling them: "Everybody experiences the same struggle."

“It’s so hard," she said, during a visit to the charity Family Action. "You get a lot of support with the baby as a mother particularly in the early days but after the age of one it falls away.

“After that there isn’t a huge amount - lots of books to read.

The Duchess visited the South East London offices of Family Action to officially launch its new FamilyLine, a telephone, text and email service providing support to parents and carers struggling at home.