Antenatal classes - useful or not?

[skiingone]

Hi girls!

I'm a first timer and looking at the local antenatal classes ( central/ west london). I'm not sure they will provide me with useful information. As far as I could work out from the topics covered they give a lot of info about labour ( which would only scare me) and not much info about anything else that I'm interested to know ( i.e. looking after the baby). From your experience, are these classes useful? Would be grateful for any advice that you can share.
X

[Libra1975]

Info about labour is good, the more (correct) info you have the more you can make informed decisions about your care. Also hopefully the more you know about labour the less it may scare you.
However you are right that most antenatal classes do not give much information about looking after the baby!

[bikerunski]

You're right, the info they give you, you could get out of a book. But very useful to be able to discuss it with others, which helped me and DH make informed decisions. If I hadn't been I would have been totally unprepared for my emergency cs and it would have been even more traumatic than it was.

The friends I made who now have babies the same as as mine are invaluable. If I were you I'd go for this reason alone. Your life will change beyond all recognition once your DC arrives and you will need new "Mummy" friends. Take every friend making opportunity you get. You may think you won't have anything in common with teh other people there, but new babies are a great social/age/interest leveller. When DS was 4 days old, I was in tears at 10pm to someone I'd known for only a few weeks but her DS was 10 days older than mine, and she was able to help. And didn't care that I was blubbing on her.

[sazzerbear]

We went for an NCT class, which was very good They covered everything, labour, birth plans, natural birth, caesarian, feeding, emotions, looking after baby etc - the works. We had to pay but you get what you pay for. DP benefitted a lot, too. I thought I knew a lot before the classes, but this was not the case at all!! Libra1975 - you are right, you can then make an informed decision, its better to know all the ins and outs (excuse the pun!) Good luck

[Aselle]

We did the Prepare4birth 1 day workshop which was really good. It goes through the whole birth process and gives you and your husband/partner practical tools and information on how he can help and support you. There was lots of information and I actually felt calmer and more confident after the day. It is run by two lovely doulas.

[missmelly]

I did 4 x 2hr sunday classes and they were really good. They covered quite a range of topics and were great for the dads too.

[cheerfulvicky]

We went to NCT classes over a period of about 6 weeks. There was a lot of emphasis on the birth (hence the name National Childbirth Trust, I suppose ) but they also covered some baby care and encouraged us to think about how the baby would affect our lives, hobbies, free time. That was the only preparation I got for for full on a small baby could be, and it was invaluable.

I too was nervous about birth, but the more I learned the stronger and less vulnerable I felt. I found reading Ina May Gaskins guide to childbirth very helpful in the last few weeks. Quite hippy, but full of pages and pages of positive birth stories at the front.

If you are scared about labour etc, I would actually say there is all the more reason to go to antenatal classes. A lot of it I did already know, but my partner was clueless and it really helped him, and made him a better birth partner. Plus you can ask questions, share your concerns with the other mums and so on. I didn't really make any friends via the NCT, but I do live in a rural area and we're all quite scattered. The friendship thing can be a big part of why people go, however.

We went to about 6 classes, once a week. My teacher phoned me after the birth so I could talk about it with her - VERY helpful - and we had a reunion a few months later which was fun. I would recommend it if it's your first baby. We only paid £80 due to a low income, and they have a sliding scale.

Anyway, congratulations! I hope you find the info on this thread useful

[samshepp]

I did my local antenatal class which was arranged by midwives and found it really god...mainly because you could meet others with same worries/fears/concerns/excitement as you and could have a good chat and cuppa....also we got together after our babies were born and 6 years on 4 of us are still very close!

[insywinsyspider]

hi I'd also recommend the NCT classes, I did it with ds1 and found it really useful as I'm not great at reading so it was good to have it 'presented' and have an oportunity to ask loads of questions, dh found it especially useful and I can vaguely remember him quoting something about 'its not baby rescue' (learnt from class!) when they wanted to interve during my first labour, it made him more confident which was good as it didn't matter at that point how much I knew I wasn't able to deal with making a decision.
We also met some lovely people, I've lost touch with all but one family now but we did see each other loads throughout the first year and like bikeruski there is something special about meeting other mums to be and going through everything together

[mummingbird]

I am a first-timer too and I am up for getting as much info as poss, even the gory details. I thought the NCT ones looked good, however, this week I booked my local NHS antenatal sessions. There are only 4 as opposed to the 6 I was offered with NCT but I thought £269 for 6 sessions seemed a bit steep so have decided to do the free ones and have vowed to thoroughly read my 4 pregnancy books! I am a bit worried I might miss out out on making friends though because I hear NCT classes are better for that. Not sure I have done the right thing?

[Pinkmarshmallow]

Very much depends on who is running the course. I went to one class that was awful and never went back there... Only 5 pg women there, only 2 with partners (my DH couldn't come because it was on at 2-4pm so a bad time for work). Sat for 2 hours listening to one person speak, no interaction or communication with other pg ladies (ok, maybe u can partly blame us, but I'm shy so not really one to initiate conversations). And worst of all, no tea/coffee or biscuits!

So, I found another course a bit further away from home. It was on 7-9pm so suited hubby well. About 10 pg women there, every one of us with partners. 2 women held the course and they were such fun and down-to-earth about the whole thing, gave us all a good laugh every night. Had tea/coffe & biccies half way through each night, providing time to get social and chatting to others. I think lots made new friendships there. Even had a big party with cake and all sorts of goodies on the last night! But they gave us so much helpful info and freebies like massage ball for labour. They also told us where to go/what forms to fill in for more freebies after the birth like breast pumps, sterilisers, safety equipment etc that we would otherwise be forking out for ourselves. Was quite sad when the course finished.

I hope you find as good a course as this.

[Bramshott]

I didn't go to classes either time (always meant to, but I tend to deliver early!). However with DD2 I signed up to the NCT 3-session "post-natal course" with the express idea of making some friends with similar age babies. It worked really well and I now have a really close group of friends I made there. Cost £15 so much, much cheaper than the antenatal classes if making friends is your main aim!

[dan39]

Think they are really useful cos forewarned is forearmed. I did NCT but then have also been to one of three at the hosp as I wanted to get a feel for the hosp attitude and approach. I think you can learn a lot from books and internet (particularly this site!!) but the human interaction was good - and I personally wanted to know what I can question in terms of intervention - I worry that somethimes things are done to speed up the process cos they know there are 10/a million women in the 'queue' as it were - so as I say - knowledge is power!

It also helped my DH massively as he had previously known nothing and was surprisingly positive about the classes!

[Polena]

We have just had an intensive prepare4birth course (prepare4birth.co.uk/) and that was brilliant!!!! My husband and i are now feeling much more confident! I didn't want to do NCT for several reasons (too long, already read many book and wanted to have only useful and sharp to the point info). Prepare4birth was recommended to me by a Swedish lady.

The course is fantastic for those who want to to have everything in one go. It is run by a very pleasant Swedish lady (her name is Nina), who also works as a doula. She came to our home and we had one to one 6 hours session (it went so quickly and so easy we didn't even notice). She explained everything about the process, gave all necessary info about what to expect at each stage of labour. Most importantly she showed various pain relief methods (and we practiced them all), massage technique for my husband, left many handouts and other materials.

So I would highly recommend this course and particularly Nina to everyone who would like to receive a very sharp and comprehensive info about birth process in one session. I don't believable you would need anything else after that.

[EmmaBemma]

^ advertising?

[noodle6]

I went for the NHS antenatal classes with DH when I was carrying DD1. All they did was scare the hell out of me because they kept talking about all the medical interventions they can do to me if I ever got in such-and-such a situation during the birth. When I saw the size of the forceps, I thought I was going to faint! I ended up going into hospital for the birth a right nervous wreck and had a very unpleasant experience overall.

For DD2, I had antenatal sessions with a Hypnobirthing practitioner (I had to persuade DH to attend though, and he wasn't very comfortable with the exercises!). She was a very helpful and supportive lady, although she herself had only had one child and it was a bad hospital birth, but she truly believed it was possible to have a good birth and it rubbed off on me so much that I ended up booking a home water birth when I was around 7 months pregs. I also had antenatal yoga classes, but the instructor also held a sort of one-day antenatal couples workshop, which I attended with DH. We did lots of relaxation exercises, and DH learnt quite a few massage techniques. I had an amazing home birth with DD2.

I would highly recommend Hypnobirthing as an antenatal class as it really is more about making you feel more confident, safe and relaxed about birthing. Antenatal yoga is good too, and the antenatal yoga instructor could well be well-informed about birthing matters too (my own one had already had a homebirth of her own and was well-connected to the hospital midwifery unit, and often handed out information leaflets on how to prepare oneself for the birth, etc. which were very reassuring to read...)

[doughnutty]

I think any antenatal classes which help you meet other women who are at roughly the same stage as you is what it's all about really.

About 6 weeks after DS was born one of the girls from my NHS antenatal class texted me and another to arrange a meet up. By the end of the first hour we all felt so much better and didn't stop talking for about 4 hours. In the first few weeks we made decisions by committee and 6 months later they are my only main social life. We meet once a week and I look forward to it as I know I can say anything and they understand. I have recently been diagnosed with PND and they and DH have been my saviours.

This is what makes it worth sitting through what may end up feeling like pointless classes.

[berrycravings]

i've got the same concerns as you skiingone. I've looked at the NCT and I wouldn't qualify for the help with the costs but they are still very high for us (and thinking of all the other things we need to buy). I'm going to go to the hospital ones (also run by NCT in my area). I'm also looking into local private courses to see if they are any cheaper and which are also a way of meeting people. I like the advice of the cheaper post birth NCT class to meet people (that is a main concern for me). I might look into that so thank you.

Good luck with your decision.

[Funkycherry]

I'm 36wks with my first. Went to a one day womens only NHS course this week.
Didn't tell me anything that wasn't in the purple NHS pregnancy book you get given at your booking appointment. It was useful to be able to ask things about the local hospital, e.g. visiting times, parking etc.
If I'd had to take time off work to attend, I'd have been a bit fed up.
We'd actually wanted to go on a couples course but there wasn't any places available. I think this would have been better because I would have liked OH to hear some things from the midwife running it rather than second hand from me. It also might prompted conversation about your preferences if you haven't already discussed this with him.
There was nothing about looking after a newborn which is the bit I wanted too.

[sayanything]

We're halfway through our NCT classes and though I've found them useful, I think DH benefited more. I think he only had a vague idea of what my pregnancy was like and what would happen in labour, and it really drove the whole thing home for him.