NCT v NHS antenatal classes

[3dogsandababy]

Hi, I’m currently 17 weeks pregnant (first baby) and living in Leeds. My midwife mentioned that I should start looking into antenatal courses about now.
I’ve looked everywhere and can’t seem to find anything about NHS classes other than a tour of the maternity unit which you can’t book until 30 weeks.
I’ve been reading about NCT courses and they seem great, just a bit pricey.
Any advice/experience would be amazing please! Are the NCT classes worth the money, and where do I find out about the NHS classes? I just don’t want to be left without anything!
Thanks

I did NCT and our group leader was all about making informed decisions on birth and feeding. She joked about NCT's reputation for being a bit homebirth, breastfeeding fixated.
We had lots of information about different interventions, pros and cons, how to make sure our voices are heard in labour, that plans can change. On feeding it was about how to breastfeed, common challenges, mixed feeding and bottle feeding, where to seek support after.

We were a nice mixed group, not a yummy mummy in sight. There's a mix of people returning to work full time, some are staying home and others are going part time.