From reading previous threads it sounds like I'm not the only one to have failed to get in to NCT in North London. (I live near Finsbury Park and I am due 8th June. I'm new to mumsnet - hello everyone!).

Has anyone been to either Plusbaby, NLAT (North London Antenatal Teachers near Tottenham) or the Active Birth Centre for classes and if so which was the best place to meet local new mums?

Also is there a 'due in June' thread - or even better a 'due in May/June and living in North London' thread I can join?
Thanks a lot!!

I didn't do any NCT thing at all - I booked one session with a company that do pre-natal classes and we did one big 3 hr marathon and that was that ! I met all the new mums at baby activity classes after lo arrived.

Hi and welcome! I'm also in N. London and didn't do NCT classes, just did the ones on offer at UCH.
I'm sure there will be due in...threads (probably best to join the June club as 1st babies are notoriously late!)
Also I seem to remember seeing a recent plea for mums to be in N London on the meetups threads, I'll look for you!

BTW my kids are older now so I'm not much use to you but I always look at N london threads!!!

Depending on what your local branch does, you can attend coffee mornings, and meet local mums there, without taking the antenatal classes.

Antenatal yoga classes are also a good place to meet other mums.

Oh, I'm interested to hear about people's views of these other class options, though, as I organise NCT classes, and don't have enough teachers to fill demand.

There's a thread called "Any 1st time mums due July/Aug in North London" You might want to look at.

thanks everyone - i think I'll just pick a class and see how it goes then get involved in postnatal classes as that seems to be the best way. if anyone else reading this has been to NLAT, Plusbaby or Active Birth Centre, let me know...cheers

All those you mention should be ok to meet people.

The NLAT ones will prob be just like NCT classes as they are led by NCT teachers. I've heard lots of +ve stories about active birth but they have diff classes -some are women only, some include partners.

I don't know anything about plusbaby. It looks like a slightly diff approach and doesn't say how many people are in a class, afaics. You might wnat to check the style of the classes e.g. is there plenty of time to get to know people or is each session a talk from an expert (an acquaintance of mine who works in the maternity field suggested this is how I should run classes - 8 weeks, 8 diff exeprts to talk to the parents for two hours).

I did yoga classes at the Active Birth Centre with each of mine, and another course there for my last baby (can't remember - it was an active birth workshop I think). I really enjoyed the yoga - I did it with Janet Balaskas. this is just for women, and there are other workshops that your dp could be involved in too.

I really rated it as I think it really helps with the birth. I also liked Janet Balaskas. I didn't really make friends there, but I did NCT classes with my first too. I think if you signed up for some of the couples courses plus a yoga class you would meet people, but they are scattered all over North London. (sorry this isn't much help )

thanks pollyanna and SueW - good to hear your thoughts. think I might try to get in on an active birth workshop then go for either Plusbaby or NLAT. One seems yummy mummy, one is a bit more 'keep it real' - don't know what category I'll feel more comfortable in. I dont feel very yummy at the moment, sitting here in my fleece and tracksuit bottoms with chocolate marks on them!

not sure if this helps but when I rang active birth their classes seemed quite large - up to 13 couples in a group. good luck with whatever you choose

Beav123, not sure if you're still looking for something. If you are, you might be interested in a two-day course I'm running in March. It's in Notting Hill, rather than North London, but I don't think everyone there will be from West London.

It's a course preparing for the emotional challenges of becoming a mum - rather than birth preparation. I devised it after many of my clients said that whilst they were very well prepared for the birth, they were completely unprepared for life after birth. There's more information at Coaching for Mothers . Any questions, e-mail me at patricia@coachingformothers.com.

I'm pretty sure that there were some ante-natal yoga classes being held in the YMCA in crouch end.

Hi Beav. I've just moved to N10 and am due Mid May. I'm thinking of doing the Active Birth classes, if I can get one at a suitable time. I'll keep an eye out for you on the talk boards.

Hi

I went to the Active Birth Centre antenatal classes and they were very good for information content - not that different form my NCT classes but useful nonetheless. Not really a make friends type of thing - that was more the NCT classes.

Hi there - a friend of mine attended the Plusbaby classes and really liked the way they were run and the content. Will be signing up myself next time round!

My friend went to birthingmatters antenatal classes, run in crouch end by two lovely midwives. She enjoyed her classes with them, found them very useless and would recommend them

I attended weekend residential antenatal classes with Birthventure (although I was told of by the moderator for mentioning their web address in a previous posts) but what the hell; Jo is an excellent teacher, everybody on our course loved it and I want to help her get more business. You can find details about them and many independant antenatal classes at http://www.birthclass.co.uk
Hope this helps and that my blatant plug does not offend anybody again.

have you tried plusbaby (www.plusbaby.co.uk) in north London....too late for me now as due any day but rhought I'd mention that I have know some people who have been on the courses and thought they were great - very thorough and supportive with loads of info...hope this helps someone else as I know how hard it can be to find classes in Muswell Hill / Crouch End/ Highgate - I failed!

Antenatal classes in N10 run by me... MarsLady For those that are looking for classes local to Crouch End and Muswell Hill.

nice website Mars