NCT, is it worth it?

[SineadHancock]

Hi all,

I'm a first time mum, due in September. Me and my husband are looking into NCT courses, but not sure if it's worth doing?

Can anyone make any recommendations? They've sent me a bit of information, but would rather hear from someone who's done it before 😊

Thanks in advance!

Hi Sinead, you might want to ask for this thread to be moved to the pregnancy forum, as it will get a bit lost on here!

I'm halfway through NCT classes at the moment and I have found them really valuable. I feel far more confident. If you can afford them, I would book on.

Thanks :)

First time on here too so not 100% sure how it all works lol

Hey, we did it and it was great for making g friends. We still meet weekly/monthly. The info is good but it all went out of the window at popping time for me!! Except the breast feeding advice. That was good!

What do you have to loose?? except the ££££

Unless you know lots of people with small babies then I'd say they are invaluable for meeting people. My son is 3 months old now and I probably see people from my nct group at least 3 times a week and we message in a Facebook group all the time. Even with this I'm still finding being at home with a baby mundane and boring a lot of the time! Didn't find the actual content particularly helpful though!

I hear also that yes these are good for meeting people.

Yes yes yes. Best money we ever spent, made friends for life with all the couples and I know loads of people who say the same. Trust me you need these people when you're having your first baby. We used to meet up once a week with our newborns, someone would always turn up crying and in need of comfort :-)

I guess it depends where you live and how long your Mat leave might be ? The nearest NCT group for me didn't answer phone or email messages, and the second nearest was 45 mins drive away, plus I went back to work at 12 weeks so I wasn't fussed (I have never been to a mother and baby group - alien concept!). The NHS ones I went to were great but were very focused on the practical side of things. Starting from where to park, what you need and don't need on ward, how to feed, dress, wind and cool an over hot baby with a temp. As regards the preparation for birth, we were encouraged not to over think it as we'd be surrounded by people who had seen it all before (we were all hospital deliveries). Never once was breathing through contractions etc mentioned, which came as a surprise and a relief !