to think NCT antenatal courses are pretty much a load of crap???!

[Gateau]

What a waste of money. Yes, you meet some good friends from it, but IMO that's one of the only positives.
They draw over about six weeks what could be said in one or two classes. All the members of our course said that.
The course is almost all about the woman's 'birth experience' which I found just makes women obsess about the birth itself. So many women I knew were "disappointed" with the birth, when surely it's not all about teh birth, but more about the wonderful reward you get at the end?And they barely touch on having a C-section - which is what I had.
And there's all this rubbish about "challenging" the medical staff when they suggest you have a C-section- with what energy, after 14 hours in labour? And when they say either have a c-section or risk endangering you and the baby, what choice is there?
our NCT teacher asked me to do a talk to her new group post-baby - or rather I was the only one who said I would. She very much disliked that fact that I was telling them I bottle-fed (because we are breaking the breastfeeding law, of course)and that I DIDN'T advocate sitting around the house in pjs after the baby was born - it doesn't suit everyone's state of mind. The NCT IMO is dogmatic.
I think the NCT course would be much more productive if it focused a little more on the early parenting side of things - that's where me and most of my NCT friends could have done with the advice!!

i didn't make a choice, crucially. bfing gave me up over time, rather than the other way around. but i still appreciate the instinct to want validation from a professional.

The point is, the bfc didn't make the decision for you.

okay, but that's not quite what i saw you as saying. a bfc can't give you permission to do anything, but for some people it is important to keep some perspective.

if bfing matters to you, it matters, oh how it does... but i had a friend who was perilously close to a breakdown from expressing round the clock for 12 weeks (her son Would Not Feed) and she needed a bfc to remind her that it might not be worth making herself sick for. i know she was very grateful for that woman's comment as it allowed her to move on and actually enjoy her child. it did have to come at the end of her journey, of course, all i'm saying is that i do understand the desire to say 'even teh bfc said to give a bottle', it doesn't indicate that the person is a quitter.

"we only went to one nhs class and found we were the oldest couple there by miles and were only 28 and 30. it was all teenagers. the midwife was a bitch and had not teaching skills-she just read off a card.she might as well have given me the card"

this is why i keep banging on about the need for a range of providers. Why should the poor teenage girls get shit provision and those of us that are older and possibly better off get the ability to buy a higher quality of teaching?(In the view of many on here) It smacks to me of the 2 tier schooling that happens in areas where some of us can affod to move to get into a 'good' school and the rest of the kids get left with shite.

I just don't think it's fair and i didn't think what i received was worth the money i paid for it. And as a consumer i think i have the right to complain - and dont worry, i do!

re BF - it is up to the individual - what i hated was the way 2 new mums i knew felt really marginalised and failures because they just couldn't do it. they felt they had let down their babies

and "people are so ungrateful" - if people pay for something they should get value for money and a quality service. this is tue of freeat the pint of service stuff too, like NHS as we all pay for that too

as a consumer you of course have the right to complain, to the NHS or to the govt about the lack of funding for the NCT. complaining about the NCT itself seems perverse, however.

Yeah, I also thought "What is she on about????" at the "people are so ungrateful" line.
Why are we ungrateful?? We owe nothing to the NCT. We are PAYING for the classes. The NCT does not provide these classes out of the goodness of its heart.
And why is complaining about the NCT "perverse?" We are paying for the service and we didn't think it delivered - we are entitled to complain about it.
Your thinking is perverse, Dilly.

So, have you complained to NCT HO about your course Gateau?

I complained on the questionnaire. haven't you read my earlier post?- I have now said this several times.

Rather, my earlier POSTS.

fabsmum - stopped banging on about the individuals who have expressed discontent at the service they received from the NCT.

They have a right to their point of you just as you have a right to yours.

Satisfied individuals rarely pay a compliment to services (which is why we all get so excited when someone does say thanks) and that dissatisfied consumers complain! It is a fact of life.

It is a shame that this interesting and thought provoking thread started life with teh title it did. Sadly fewer of us would have looked at a thread called, isn't the NCT lovely lets all pay it acompliment. That is MN for you!

We are not saying 'we hate the NCT'. we are saying 'we aren't satisfied with the service we got'

Well said overthemill.
My sentiments exactly.

you are welcome

And even if we did say "we hate the NCT" we are entitled to that opinion too.

But we didn't!!! Before anyone gets their knickers in a twist further.

Actually, the overly defensive responses about the NCT on here only serve to reflect the sanctimonious nature of SOME of the (I repeat SOME of the, not all, I'm sure) antenatal classes. Which is the exact point a lo of people on here are making.

I'll go get my hard hat now.....

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well, my 'people are so ungrateful' line was said with a wink and as a bit of a joke tbh, but seeing as you're responding to it as if i meant it seriously... it was this by silkcutmama that i found ungrateful.
"1. Not medically trained - why on earth would I trust their views then???

1. Ridiculously expensive - although says it voluntary
2. V white, middle class - not my bag I'm afraid
3. Have many friends who have been and when it came to birth they did not feel prepared at all. They thought they could "breathe" the baby out and then reaised the reality
4. One friend of mine attended and 8 out of 9 of them ended up having a c section. Possibly circumstance/co-incidence but I think it was lack of prep"

birth in hospital has changed a great deal thanks to the campaigning work of organisations like the NCT, you don't have to have attended a class to owe them a debt of thanks. not that most people on here realise that, it would seem, much happier to dismiss them as middle-class and shrink away from the issues.

oh, have fb'd you pruni.

You're just preaching now, Dilly. It's boring.
And once again, megaphone in hand, we are not talking about CAMPAIGNING or anything else the NCT does. Although it sounds like we are supposed to treat the NCT people like gods.Like fxxk.
ANTENATAL classes are the focus of this discussion, nothing else.

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And no, I don't owe them any debt of thanks. Are you for real?
On the contrary, they owe ME for the crap classes I got nothing out of.

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Things haven't changed that much in hospital if you ask me and it is important to be informed, not hand over complete responsibility to the hospital - this is quite dangerous. You do need to know what you're rights are. My midwife told me that I would be better suited to NCT classes as I questioned the benefits of the antenatal classes. I didn't do NCT classes but I did do my homework. AIMS was very good indeed.

The image of NCT is because they charge a lot for their classes which is why you tend to have middle-classes. Pregnancy is a time when most people are tightening their belts.