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Original poster

Many parents heard of NCT

27 replies

NewMummyGeorgina · 12/06/2012 15:09

I stumbled across NCT today. Looks very good, has any one had any experience with this charity?

OP posts:
Meeshamie · 12/06/2012 15:15

There are literally 100s of discussions on this board about NCT. Search and you will find!

I joined before the birth of my first born. Very valuable in learning about labour but also in meeting new parents to be locally.

tumbleweedblowing · 12/06/2012 15:16

How useful it is depends on where you are living. Where we used to live (greater London) invaluable. Where we are now, not much point, because you'd be on your lonesome.

Lots of people on here will have lots of very strong opinions!

Original poster
NewMummyGeorgina · 12/06/2012 15:20

Sorry, i am new to Mumsnet havent quite figured it out yet. Thanks!

OP posts:
FredQuimby · 12/06/2012 15:22

I found NCT to be really worthwhile. Many years later, we're still friends with everyone in the group and meet-up en masse from time to time.

Sandalwood · 12/06/2012 15:23

Have you recently had a baby Georgina? Or expecting?

I've never had anything to do with NCT, other than going along to a couple of sales. But I have friends who have and made good friends through them.

Nevercan · 12/06/2012 15:32

I went to NCT antenatal classes which were great and made life long friends. I now volunteer for them. Your local branch will do loads of local toddler clubs and other events which are good to go to Smile

HappyJoyful · 12/06/2012 15:44

I think the NCT are a bit like marmite - love it or hate it..

We did the antenatal course (not cheap though) and didn't really feel I learnt anything from it, however, had no expectations to do so really.

But, given I had no friends with babies local to where I lived I knew that making a network of women to meet up with during maternity leave etc would be invaluable and it was. Still in touch with all the 8 women we were on the course with and whilst now we don't meet up so regularly as we're all back at work etc etc it is still nice when we do.

My sister however found the whole idea of it ludicrous, she felt it far too 'middle class' and why on earth would she want to sit around drinking coffee comparing babies afterwards.. So yes in conclusion I think it depends on that all issue of whether you want to buy into all that..

CMOTDibbler · 12/06/2012 15:46

Anyones experience with NCT will be totally dependant on what the group local to them was like tbh. I joined to meet people, but much as I tried, it didn't work out for me.

ReallyTired · 12/06/2012 15:51

I did NCT ante natal classes and they were very good. I'm glad I did them as I was not offered NHS classes due to moving area.

However in my area the NCT is very much a middle class mummies club. I felt alienated by some of the mums who looked down on me because I was about ten years younger (ie. 25 years old) than them and not married. There was also a lot of one upmanship on whose baby was developing the fastest, who breastfeed the longest, who managed to have a natural labour with zero drugs and whose labour was the longest.

The NCT is changing and trying to shake off its image of a middle class Mummies club. Certainly they are trying to get invovled with supporting more deprived areas.

GrimmaTheNome · 12/06/2012 16:35

I found NCT very good - for the antenatal classes but also because I was new to the area, I was lucky to find some good friends. We all met up for a year or so afterwards (much eating of creamcakes while BFing!!), and beyond that I've remained good friends with 2 of the other mums and of course their DCs.

piprabbit · 12/06/2012 16:44

Their classes are organised nationally/regionally and can be really useful for meeting other people and thinking about birth and post-natal topics. They also have various events arranged by the local branches, which can vary quite alot depending on how many good volunteers active the local branch is.
Go to www.nct.org.uk and type in your postcode, you should be able to find your local branch's info pages which should give you a feel of how active it is.

dormy · 12/06/2012 20:54

Hi - I have heard about NCT but have not been to any of the groups.I understand they organsie secondhand baby product sales. Has anybody been to these? Or does anybody know any other groups that organise these events. I have some incredible beautiful products that I would like to try & sell

mrsbaffled · 12/06/2012 20:56

Didn't join myself as I couldn't see the point of paying for something that we got for free ont he NHS....

DilysPrice · 12/06/2012 21:01

The sales are normally excellent. You don't have to be a member to buy but you may need to be a member to sell - it depends on your local group.

Go to the website and search for your local group - agree with everyone else that it's a bit of a lottery whether your local group is any good - if you're in a rural area then you're less likely to be lucky.

MmBovary · 13/06/2012 13:54

Never joined the NCT. Met a couple of mums who did and once went for coffee with a group of these mums. They were showing off rings their husbands gave them for the birth of their babies. Another held breast feeding as a gospel. Too square for me, sorry. The NCT sounds like the younger version of the Women's Institute kind of woman and with babies. Not my cup of tea at all.

Toaster24 · 13/06/2012 13:58

It's good for making friends with babies due at pretty much the same time as yours - you go through the same issues at the same time, which is helpful.

MmBovary I guess it depends on what the group in your particular area is like...

skybluepearl · 15/06/2012 00:02

It was the best money spent. I met three of my best friends during NCT courses and now 10 years later, we are like sisters. We were just similar minded people with few family close by. We have supported each other through thick and thin. Great advice with first babies and great sales too from the NCT.

misslinnet · 15/06/2012 00:15

The NCT nearly new sales are great, we've got loads of good cheap toys and clothes for DS from them.

Agree the groups can be a bit of a lottery. There's only one weekly NCT group in my area, but an NCT group about 25 miles away has about 6 weekly groups.

puffinnuffin · 15/06/2012 13:06

I have been a member twice hoping to meet friends. On both occasions it was great for the first year but the groups fizzled out after that as people went back to work or starting having more babies.

NCT sales are great for buying stuff, not so great for selling as people are looking for real bargains and once money has been taken off for selling fees etc you don't end up with very much. However at least the money goes directly to a charity.

hanbee · 16/06/2012 20:52

Like any group it will be the luck of the draw whether you meet like minded people, I've met lovely people through the Nct and some that I wouldn't choose to be friends with. I did antenatal classes ( learnt a bit and met some people yo go out with once my baby had arrived), volunteered as a postnatal supporter when my son was about 6 months old and it was nice to help out women who'd just become mothers.

Sales vary from place to place too. Some are small and some massive. I made over £100 selling our grown out of things at one today!

JoSims · 17/06/2012 19:13

Like most mums I signed up for NCT - because it was the only option I knew about!! On our first session the teacher told my partner that his role in labour was to "help the woman release her inner monkey" - YES REALLY!!!!

We decided we wouldn't return when we were told that they wouldn't be covering labours that don't go according to plan, and that labour isn't "painful" it is just a "sensation" - yeah right!!

I was really upset as I was then too late (36 weeks) to sign up for NHS classes, and so I trawled the internet and found another local private company called Birth and Baby Reality, who were really lovely to me on the phone, and squeezed onto their current course.

It was the best thing i did, and I found out that I wasn't the first person to join them and pay out a second lot of money just to get a good course!

I think it is worth looking around and seeing if other people offer courses, and having a look on forums to see if anyone has left reviews. In our area the mums have left over 50 reviews for Birth and Baby Reality, which really impressed me!!

They don't offer postnatal courses, but the teachers do run a coffee morning every week, and I go there to meet other mums and join in the discussions that they lead about loads of postnatal things.

hanbee · 17/06/2012 19:23

JoSims your post just shows how much NCT things vary. In my Nct antenatal course we covered pain relief, pluses and minuses and what happens during an c-section: who will be in the room, what they'll be doing etc. We got to hold and look at forceps, a ventouse and the little hook they use to break your waters. We even got to look in through the window into the operating theatre on our Nct led hospital tour. The two of our group who had c sections (one planned, one emergency) said they found it invaluable. We did also cover "straightforward" labours and births.

I always feel a but sad that others get such a one sided view, it will never prepare you if it doesn't cover several outcomes.

piprabbit · 17/06/2012 19:26

We got to play with an epidural tube thingy. It was brill (DH may have come over a bit funny though).

1944girl · 17/06/2012 19:30

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Pascha · 17/06/2012 19:35

There isn't a closer group than 30 miles away for me so its really not worth it.