To be really disappointed with the NCT?

[3owls]

Just wanted to rant a bit about our NCT class. DH and I are first time parents and really just wanted to join a group where we could make friends and get some info on the birth/baby care process.

So we paid our £200 quid to join the NCT as so many people had said its fab.

What we didn't realise that the NCT isn't a "middle of the road or heres-the-info-make-your-own-mind-up" type class...

our leader is very, very holistic in her approach. she's hot on the whole home birth, incense and hypno birthing realm of labour and delivery. which i suppose for some people is exactly what they are looking for.

I, however, have had a very complicated pregnancy and will need a lot of medication/monitoring/medical support during labour and delivery. Thus most of whats being said is completely impractical and not useful.

We tend to leave feeling frustrated and annoyed. I spoke to another Mum in the area today about all this and she was quite surprised. Apparently there was a different teacher a few years ago who did just present facts and let you get on with it. So is this experience just bad luck or do most NCT classes push this agenda?

I think I should have complained actually... I broke the end off my coccyx delivering enormous child. NCT teacher oh so helpfully said to the class (when I volunteered to go back to talk to her next class) 'oh well of course you should never have been on your back, if you'd been in a nice supportive squat that would never have happened. What are they thinking in these hospitals'
During the epic labour I had in fact spent at least 24 hours on all fours, squatting, wandering about- to absolutely no avail. During pushing I had also been on all fours and standing. The only thing that moved ds at all was when they stuck my legs up in stirrups. He was over 10lb and I am 5'3 and slim.
my NCT teacher = insensitive twat

OP raise your concerns, as others have said.

We were given some quite dubious information, including the 'fact' that a woman won't make a baby that's too big to give birth to. I'm sure this isn't actually true?

We were told that even if the baby's father is big, his 'genes won't kick until later' so the baby will be small enough to give birth to naturally no matter what.

They also switched between relative and absolute measures of risk depending on if they wanted us to take the risk or not. For example, we were told that the risk of intervention with epidural was "three times greater" (relative measure). Whereas the risk of placental hemorrhage without pitocin as "10% less" (based absolute measure of risk). The "10% less" was the difference between 16% (without pitocin) vs. 6% (with pitocin) so they could have presented it as "almost three times greater" but they chose not to. Switching from relative to absolute measures of risk is known to affect perception of that risk, so it's quite underhand really.

How strange, there is a core diploma they're all meant to do? It's good round our way. Try looking up their coffee mornings etc.

I've been told by doctors that size of father has no bearing.