Is NCT worth doing?

[Butterflyflower1234]

Hi all

I'm pretty new to this all, TTC early next year and friends I know who have babies talk about their NCT group. I don't really know what it is? Is it just antenatal classes?

Have you been to NTC and was it worthwhile? I think it's really cheap for the course so it seems on the surface like a good thing to do.

£250 is a whole week's wages to me. We did an NHS class.

There were plenty of first time parents on that kind of salary in my NCT class as we don’t have consistent NHS classes in our area. They had it either bought for them as gifts or budgeted for them for months as they saw the value in attending.

OP - congratulations on your pregnancy. I did NCT and agree with so many of these comments. It is basically a middle class friend finder as the content is very basic and freely available on the internet and in lots of books.

My group met several times a week up until we started returning to work. Our partners all still meet for a curry every 6-8 weeks which is nice.

Our LOs are now all about 13-14 months old and we al still met albeit less frequently. However, as with any group, fractures have developed due to personalities. I see 2 of them multiple times a week and the others perhaps 1x fortnight/month.

It's a lifesaver in the early days when you're up at all hours and uncertain about things!

If you can afford, I would recommend you do it as you haven't got anything to lose really.

Good luck with your pregnancy.

It depends on your course leaders.

Ours was very much about people making informed decisions on birth and feeding, having the knowledge to feel confident being flexible if and when birth preferences don't go to plan.

Others locally have a bit of a hippie vibe, natural birth, breast is best feel.

My eldest is 8 and four of us are still in touch. So it's a good little group of friends if you click.

I think lots of different people do NCT (and you can get a reduction on the cost if you can not afford them) but you are purely paying for the possibility of friends who have babies the same age as your baby.

Why is it middle class people? A few people have said that to me and I just found it odd. The course near me is only £250 so that's so cheap so doesn't seem to exclude people due to affordability

Because as pp have said in lots of areas the NHS still do a free one, and there are so many other things to spend £250 on for a first baby.

I think the course content varies a bit from class to class. Mine was very heavy on getting through labour with as few medical interventions as possible and not much at all on postnatal/baby care. Ours was also very heavy on the breastfeeding evangelism ('everyone can bf if they want to badly enough' type message).

We did both NCT and NHS class. Wasn’t keen on the NCT - very focused on breast feeding and natural birth. I wasn’t planning on either and I was the only one in the group who was going back to work full time after six months - was also the only one expecting DT’s. I liked the NHS class - very practical and the nurse running the class was a mother of three, experienced and hilarious!

My NCT class was run by a semi-retired local midwife and was invaluable. She taught us how to use gas and air so we didn’t feel sick, went through epidurals and how they worked and why I specifically might be denied one, and she then went onto the best positions to avoid tearing / minimise pain due to back labour. She also gave us the tools to navigate the labour ward system so we have access to pain relief options / care to make it easier for you — things like asking for student midwives to stay with you for their whole shift etc etc.

My class was invaluable but NCT leaders can be a bit hit and miss — in some places you could conceivably get a person who has passed their diploma but never given birth / doesn’t get involved in the medical / hospital side of things. and so might be very airy fairy.

Some great responses here thanks. It seems like if I manage my expectations of not learning much but hopefully opening it up for making friends then that's fine.