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!!

£540 does sound a lot - nothing like that amount is charged here.

it's a yes/no one, tbh. you could answer in less time than it took you not to.

can you be arsed to answer why you did a talk for them etc if you think taht the classes are a load of crap? and if you've checked whether your feedback changed the classes at all?

Plus courses are all about an event in the future - can you really be totally prepared for what will happen, how you will feel and what you wll remember?

our classes absolutely did go into what can go wrong. i think, if anything, what this thread has revealed is that the teachers are very variable.

also agree that DH probably found them very useful as he never read anything. and that was the source of my irritation with the bfing classes, it was too focused on persuading the men that it was a good thing. i wanted them out of the room and wanted some v practical tips on How To Do It. as i say, i know they took the emphasis off men a bit after our class, cos we all complained about it.

WTF?! £540!! that's a ridiculous amount of money, just my opinion. thinking that more or less pays for most of the baby essentials like the cot, bedding, bottles etc. wow, can't believe people fork out that amount of money just for classes.

I feel really insulted that they charge that much to be honest - especially when I look at the pricing in other areas. I'm tempted to ask them why but expecting crap about rent blah blah blah

I felt very deeply betrayed by my NCT classes. They dangle an "ideal" in front of you (of birth plans, of being in control, of being confident, of supportive midwives, a few candles and some music and it'll all be fine) - it's an ideal that, unfortunately, for many many women can't be achieved - largely through factors beyond their control - like pressures on hospitals, unsympathetic GPs and consultants, their own body's idea of how the birth is going to go and their pain thresholds.

Now I don't doubt that there is a lot of policy and practice that could be changed that would, in the long-term, improve the birth experiences of thousands of parents and I think some of the work the NCT does to challenge the reality is a positive force for change. however they absolutely should not play with the experiences of individuals by perpetuating myths to Alice Bloggs due date two months away. They need to situate their teaching much more in the reality that people face. even if that reality is one we/they would like to see changed. For Alice Bloggs it's not going to be changed and she deserves classes that acknowledge that.

i felt fine for haivng an epidural as i learned for the first time in those classes that my high bp meant there was a likelihood of being given one. not something the hospital had ever mentioned to me...

I did feel I had "failed" after my NCT experience. We were first time parents and the first of our friends to have kids and knew absolutely nothing about all the otpions available to us and the details of labour/pain relief etc.

The day after an NCT class on informed consent I got rushed into hospital at 34 weeks with suspected early labour, and wasstrongly advised to have steroid injections to protect my babies lungs. I had been so convinced by my NCT teacher in my dazed hormonal state that all intervention was bad and wrong, that I felt I was somehow letting the babies and myself down by agreeing to it rather than spending hours questioning the consultant as to whether it was really necessary.

I think pregnant, hormonal women must be a tricky crowd to deal with as they are often scared, tired and vulnerable - but I do think that teachers who are too extreme in their natural/no pain/c-sections are wrong attitudes need to realise that lots of women won't have the births they want and shouldn't be feeling even more guilty about things not happening "naturally" because of the luck of the draw of their NCT teacher. I've seen many friends since who've had a traumatic/sudden/emergency situation at birth and they've all felt they've somehow failed because their experience didn't fit with the carefully drawn up birth plan with natural remedies and no intervention that they'd drawn up in class. Unrealistic on their part, but encouraged by the NCT.

Fair enough to promote breastfeeding and drug free labour where necessary - but all options and sides should be covered with positives and negatives for both where necessary - and I think each teacher should be monitored to ensure that this is happening rather than some of them using the classes as their own bandstand.

I've moved areas and found my local NCT refreshingly different - it really is a social support network and the committee have a good range of birth experiences. I chatted to a mum who does the classes here and she was very realistic about c-sections having had one herself. Interventions should be reduced where possible, but if they do happen that mum shouldn't feel she has failed - but just that her baby is hopefully safely delivered and she is okay and that is the main thing that matters.

Yawwwwn.
Deviating massively from the subject here. I'm off now.
Anyone who wants to slag me off, go on, feel free.. I'm not around to care.

By the way, not referring to the latest posts - just a few sad, bitchy ones I got earlier.
Bye!

So how much do you really want to know pre-birth? All the possible outcomes? Because that surely is very unrealistic in a 6/8 week course. Would it be really helpful to hear as many stories as possible? No one can predict what will happen so how can you cover all eventualities? Antenatal is as much about how you can't plan/ be in control plus as much information as you are willing to absorb. May be a lot of people want the impossible from their classes - they are not about solving all your problems, they are there as a guide and can only answer the questions you ask.

NCT postnatal Early days courses are more about dealing with the now.

I found my NHS class unfair in it's attitude towards c-sections. It gave the impression that it was your own fault if you ended up with one for failure to progress. This happend to me despite staying at home for 13 hours with contractions every 5 mins, staying active, usind birth ball, breathing, different positions & being relaxed enough to make light of the situation for most of the 43 hours I tried to avoid surgery. It all makes you think you could of done better!

I'm sure there are some great NCT classes out there, but from what I have read on MN (and I frankly admit this is my only experience of them other than what my friends have told me), they seem to be, sadly, in the minority, so I have decided not to attend any. It's a shame, because I would have liked to meet other Mums, but I have a perception that they are anti-cs, anti-ff, anti-people who have to go back to work after the baby is born...and I don't really fancy it.

I'm sure there are some great NCT classes out there, but from what I have read on MN (and I frankly admit this is my only experience of them other than what my friends have told me), they seem to be, sadly, in the minority, so I have decided not to attend any. It's a shame, because I would have liked to meet other Mums, but I have a perception that they are anti-cs, anti-ff, anti-people who have to go back to work after the baby is born...and I don't really fancy it.

oh i thought it was natural ct as the way they went on about it. actually now i think about it it was probably national. see i'm easily confused even when not pg. still - think my post relevant tho

where on earth did the £540 come from? That is absolutely untrue......although I do agree that the standard antenatal course (which is £240 and not £540 per couple) is quite expensive.....

Gateau - why did you decide to go on the course in the first place and what were your expectations?

LT, the best thing you can do imo is find out who the teacher is and then ask around for people who've been to that person's classes. clearly the attitudes of the teachers are variable.

although funnily enough... i think if you counted up the positive and negative responses on this thread, i read it as coming out quite strongly in favour of the NCT ones. especially bearing in mind people like moaning more than they do praising.

Oh, its true coffeeNcakes..
www.nctpregnancyandbabycare.com/in-your-area/course-finder/view/3667

I haven't read this whole thread but I can take a punt at most of the content.

To try and counterbalance I wanted to recount my positive experience of the NCT classes - yes they emphasized that a lack of intervention was a good thing but they also explained possible interventions, reasons why they would be necessary etc. I was really scared of having a "failure to progress" c section and I remember the teacher saying specifically that if it happens it happens and that you should stay positive and be proud of what you've achieved, remember it isn't a competition etc. Which was a good job really because guess what I ended up having?

They were also very good about breast feeding - the teacher couldn't breast feed one of her own children and was very honest about her experiences.

I think the NCT could use better marketing sometimes but my own personal experience was very good. I also met 5 other mums and dads and we've all become very good friends. We are having a joint 1st birthday party for our babies in a few weeks time!

Well, I am moving out of London (sob) AFTER the baby is born, to a small village, so may have to fall back on the NCT coffee mornings in order to meet people. But that's ok. I daresay I won't be the only cs once the babies are actually BORN. All the NCT classes in Central West London were booked up long ago, so it's academic for me at this stage anyhow. I think the remarks about the NCT have principally been on other threads, over time. Also, a friend of mine is a GP, who for reasons particular to her didn't want to BF. She was all but lynched and so she now warns her patients to be careful of the zealot fringe within the NCT. I'm not saying they are all like it, of course; some people swear by it and have a good experience. But I'm wary, and I think I'm not alone. Maybe the NCT have an image problem?

jette, that is OUTRAGEOUS!
they should be torn limb from limb.

well if GPs are using words like lynched and zealot, i'm not surprised...

ExterminAitch, GPs can be just as vulnerable as any other first time Mums. My friend was made to feel like a pariah. She doesn't tell people not to attend NCT classes, just points out that in some groups there is a certain element...