"Antenatal Classes" - South East London

[AndreaBaby]

Hi All,

I would just like to share my experience of the Evening Antenatal Classes that I have attended in Greenwich in South East London.

I have read some of the threads regarding Antenatal Classes and the one I have just attended was thouroughly informative and an enjoyable experience.

The Classes were run by a Midwife Tania from Bump2Bubba (I love the name!) whose knowledge and experience was next to none (I have also attended the NCT classes, which I did not find useful at all). One of the things I did find useful was her insight into what actually happens at the hospital when you arrive through to birth.

I would recommend her services to anyone.

Good luck to everyone

Best Wishes

Andrea

Hi Andrea
I started the huge antenatal class thread and I'm actually in se london - so greenwich would be perfect. How much were they? And did you make friends?? I'm terrified of being stuck home alone with a tiny baby in 5 months time...

Hi Andrea,
I would really like details too, as I live near Greenwich. The NCT only offered courses in Vauxhall or New Cross.
The other question, do they cover care of a newborn baby? This is my first and I am clueless!
Thank you
GG

Dear Peanuthead,

The costs are cheaper than NCT (and much better). We paid £140 for 6 evening classes (By the way she holds classes in Blackheath too if that is more useful to you). As for making friends, this was the good thing about it (it actually pleased my husband no end) after the classes we went to the local pub down the road. This wasn't till the third week, getting over the getting-to-know-you period I guess. My husband has been out with some of the other dads-to-be and I have been out for coffee with some of the mums. Also Tania has a reunion every few months for all parents with their new-borns. We have not had ours yet but friends of ours have and they said you to get meet other local parents.

I would recommend her classes.

Ps Just to let you know there are quite alot of things for pregnant women and new mothers around Greenwich & Blackheath. Let me know if you would like me to post this information on here too.

Good luck!

Dear gardeninggirl,

tania's details are www.bump2bubba.co.uk and her mobile number is 07899 81 72 21.

Not to worry, I was exactly like you but she has filled me with alot of confidence. Not only myself but my husband. The classes were great as it involves the dads-to-be alot. My hubby was more nervous than I was before the classes, now he thinks he knows it all! Typical!

She covers everything from pre natal to post natal. The main thing that I got out of it was because she is a Midwife her insight into what happens in the hospital was immense and that comforted me to have this information as I would never have thought about it.

If there is anything specific you wanted covering she does ask you in the first week. My specific topic was breastfeeding and this was covered in some detail. Other people asked about things such as pain relief, bathing the baby and using Real Nappies etc. She covered everything that we had asked and more.

Let me know if you would like any other information.

Take care

A

Hi Andrea, I would love for you to post what you know about things to do in Greenwich and Blackheath. Today is my first day on maternity leave and I am already feeling a little lost, and it's only 9.30am! R x

Hello Andreababy, you sound very impressed by Tania's classes indeed.
As I'm a member of the local NCT branch you mention I'm really sorry to hear that you thought their classes were useless.
Did you give them any feedback so that they could improve things for others?
Have to say that with two lots of classes my own experience of the NCT antenatal teachers in Greenwich was really good and so was that of loads of my friends in the area.

And in the interests of balance, here's some info about upcoming courses in SE7 (Charlton) and SE6 (Catford) that the local NCT offers. I can recommend the tutor in SE7 from personal experience and it is two minutes down the road from Blackheath

Hi Marina,

I appreciate that everyone has different opinions. All I'm doing is expressing to first time mothers-to-be, like me, who are nervous, unsure, scared, emotional.... all those feelings we have to go through, what is out there and what my husband & I have experienced.

My husband left feedback with the lady we booked through. He felt he did not gain anything from the NCT classes, however, with the Bump2Bubba classes he said he felt he was now part of the birth and that he actually had a large part to play in pregnancy (This meant so much to me, as I want him to be part of this experience as well).

In addition to this we didn?t realise that NCT teachers were not always midwives or from the nursing profession, which is why we joined the Bump2Bubba classes. Her midwifery experience played a large part in boosting confidence and reassurances.

I have found many of these threads useful only because people are writing the truth and that is their personal opinions, good or bad. However I do apologise as I?m not trying to put down the NCT; the teacher was very nice and we did get some useful information but it just wasn?t quite what we expected it to be. Sorry Marina, not offence meant.

Best Wishes

A

Hi mumtobabyH,

There seems to be a huge amount to do. The main things that I attend (but unfortunately not on a regular basis) are?the antenatal aqua aerobics at the Archers Leisure centre. Also at the Greenwich West Community & Arts Centre there is Yoga for Pregnancy. The mothers and I who have met at the antenatal classes meet up at the Royal Tea rooms in Greenwich or round each others homes. Mainly Monday mornings.

The two main places to find out information on things to do for pregnant women and for new mothers in the area are Blackheath Library and the Greenwich West Community & Arts Centre?s notice boards. Lots of info to keep us all busy.

Friends of ours who have had their children recommend the Friday morning Cinema Club at Greenwich, where just mothers and their newborns watch a film and then pop to Café Rouge after for coffee. I have walked past on a number of occasions and have seen the mass of prams in the foyer.....I cant wait.

I think we are very fortunate living in these areas with so many people catering for mothers and babies.

Good luck mumtobabyH?hope this has helped.

x

I think it is really important you are honest with the NCT if you found the classes lacking in some way, so it's good that your dh left feedback with the Bookings Secretary.
Although the classes have to be paid for, the antenatal teachers are basically doing the work voluntarily in that they make very little gain financially (some of the fee you pay is used to train local b/f counsellors and a/n teachers, some of it goes to Head Office).
They may not be midwives or nurses, but they all have to undergo a proper course of training which is independently validated by the University of Luton Diploma in Antenatal Teaching , which makes them qualified in a different sense to offer this service.
It's not quite the same as the businesses that Tania and some of the other excellent independent m/ws are running locally, is it?
I would hope that prospective parents in the area would see these courses as complementary, not competing with each other, as your earlier posts have implied. Hopefully your feedback will be taken on board by the branch. No organisation or individual is perfect and improvements can always be made

sounds great, wished i stilled lived in Greenwich

Thanks A... really helpful. R x

Thanks Andrea!

That sounds pretty good, like you I really want to learn about breast feeding too! I also know my DH would love the option to bond with some other dads to be over a pint, he is a bit wary of all the 'oestrogen' he thinks will be going on at these things!
Maybe I will see you there peanuthead!

Marina it is not that I do not want to go to NCT classes but on contacting them at 12 weeks gone, they offered me classes in Vauxhall or New Cross, neither of which are very close to me - whereas although I don't live in Greenwich (where bump2budda is based) it is less than a mile away. If there were any NCT classes in the local area I would have booked months ago - I just held back as it seemed silly to go for miles for classes, when the biggest benefit, as i see it, is to try to meet some local mums.

GG

Dear Marina,

As my husband has just mentioned (Jokingly!!) your head office must be doing quite good business charging £175 for 3 sessions compared to Bump2Bubba's £140 for 6 Sessions .

Take Care

A

Gardeninggirl, sounds like you were unlucky with timings as there is a very good antenatal teacher in SE7 who does several sets of weekly classes in a year for the NCT. Perhaps she is on sabbatical. If you decide to go for a homebirth she is also the local homebirth support person and absolutely brilliant at that too. Good luck!

Dear GG,

Just to let you know that some friends of ours that gave birth back in Dec who attended the Bump2Bubba antenatal classes (but I like the sounds of bump2budda too!) organise nights where the girls get a night out while the men get together to babysit and play poker. My hubby cant wait!!! (It will be like having two kids on my hands! )

Good luck GG

A x

Hiya

This is probably a bit cheeky,this is not meant as a promo or market research but really a "have I the wrong end of the stick? - are people not that interested"

I have just started running antenatal classes in Buckinghamshire that covers the stuff AFTER birth; I plan on covering things like:
1)What the immediate post-birth experience will be like; physically, practically and emotionally
2)How your relationships will be impacted with the arrival of baby and what you can you do about it
3) What your new self will be like - how your body recovers and your self image changes
4) Breastfeeding the ups and downs.
5) How to cope with crying babies
etc. etc.

Is this all just too much to take in when you are pregnant and that you will deal with it all once the baby is there or do you think it might be something you would be interested in?

Any comments greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Helen

Halle,

I think its a great idea what you have suggested. Remember people will take in what they think will be of use to them. For instance, the classes that I went to, the midwife was great because she covered both real nappies and disposable, for example...some mothers who may not be interested in say Real Nappies wont listen to it but they have the option too if they like. Us mothers-to-be like to be given as much information as possible so in the words of Tania we can build up our confidence in knowing that all bases have been covered which leads to less unexpectedness.

Good luck Halle with your venture, hope it works out.

AndreaBaby
Thanks for your answer I am beginning to loose heart and think I will just advertise Antenatal classes (without saying that I am doing anything different) and see if I get a different response rate. If you have the time go to lifebeyondpregnancy.googlepages.com/mumstheword to see just how much I cover.
Goodluck with your baby!

Hi Halle,

I've seen your site a while ago and have not had the time to reply. Apologies for this!

I do like the site however what I would say is that your Class topics are aimed towards motherhood. I'm not saying that us mums do not need to know that, but as a first time mum I was soo scared of the idea that I wanted to know everything about giving birth, as this is what I was most afraid of. Bump2Bubba gave me this confidence and belief in myself, because she was able to answer all our questions from contractions, to arrival at the hospital, what if anything went wrong (which was very important to my partner & I, because I want to be prepared for all eventualities), pain relief, to the birth and time with my baby.

Your classes would benefit from the addition of Labour as many of your topics would be encorporated in Antenatal Classes if this was something we wanted covered. In addition to this I am hoping that childbirth and afterbirth will be a natural process but if it is not I will be contacting you for help!

Good Luck Halle, hope it all works out for you!

Wanted to add - NCT teachers aren't volunteers, they're paid professionals. The booking clerks are volunteers,which is why the bookings procedure can sometimes be a bit patchy, but that's all about to change because the NCT is turning it into a paid role.

Also wanted to say that when you do NCT classes any money that's left over from paying the teacher/venue/covering the cost of biscuits and coffee goes to fund NCT campaigning and research. At the moment the NCT are putting all their (considerable) weight behind the 'one mother one midwife' campaign, plus the campaign to save independent midwifery. IMO it's nice to know that by doing the classes (which are generally pretty well thought of anyway) you're contributing to the drive to improve maternity standards for everyone rather than just lining some private individual's pockets.....

Hi there all,
I'm woundering if anyone can help. I'm a Skilled practitioner currently doing my Masters at Birbeck university studying Psycho-dynamics of human development. As part of this I have to observe mother and baby infant observations. Therefore I am looking for a mother/family in Southeast London who is due to give birth around Nov/Dec. This is truly a wonderful experience of watching mother and baby develop over the next two years.

If there are generous mothers out there that would like to be part of this please get in touch.

Plse note that full certification from Birbeck University is supplied along with CRB Clearance

Hi Honeur

This is probably too late but just I have two girls- one who was born in november. I live in blackheath. If you still need someone get in touch

Kind regards

Antonia

Please can you take 3 minutes to complete my survey for one of my final University courses. A Greenwich ward is the area within the Borough of Greenwich which you live in. This could be either Coldharbour, Eltham, Plumstead, Shooters Hill, Abbey Wood or Greenwich etc.

greenwich.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/antenatal-classes-in-greenwich

Many thanks.