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Noobies antenatal classes - anyone tried them?

4 replies

Amelia261 · 12/09/2017 19:51

I'm pregnant with my 1st baby. I'm trying to decide whether to go to Noobies or NCT antenatal classes and wondered if anyone had any experience of the Noobies course?

From what I can tell it's quite new and only available in a few London areas. Would love to hear from anyone who's tried it as it's £250 to do, so quite an investment! Thanks!

www.noobies.co.uk

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
LondonClaire · 05/10/2017 09:24

I would DEF recommend Noobies!!

It being new, my partner and I didn't know what to expect but having completed the course we really don't know what we'd done without it. I feel really lucky that, especially compared to NCT classes, it was taught by a midwife with experience of hospitals in our area. This made such a difference! Having her being able to reference births she'd attended, speak about recent mums she'd worked with and give real life examples was really useful. Also because she's a midwife, she was really good at checking in on the vibe in the room in relation to different topics- she knew how to read expectant mums and dads from years of experiences and could pick up on anxieties or confusion very quickly.

The community midwife team in our area of unfortunately have been a bit hit and miss, often only having time to do a quick check of blood pressure, urine, baby heart rate and that's it. If I hadn't got the information on birth plans, breastfeeding, local parent-baby groups and everything else from Noobies, I wouldn't have got it. It's also introduced me to a group of mums in my local area. There were really useful group exercises later in the course, once you'd done a few sessions so were familiar with each other- & nothing too cheesy- so it felt like quite an organic way of getting to know people, rather than forced.

Noobies was also great for addressing issues for dads too and their anxieties. My partner had found it hard how often dads are treated as if they are not there during antenatal appointments and scans. Noobies was great at being more inclusive of fathers who want to be hands on in caring for their baby as well as caring for the baby's mother. Because of this, the course felt very fresh and modern compared to a lot of stuff I see on apps or in generic NHS leaflets and so much more relevant to mine and my partner's approach to birthing/parenting.

There is also all the info you need on birthing- from hynobirthing and birth pools etc (including full details on provision in your area) to there being no judgement towards epidurals, interventions and c-sections and it was great that these were discussed too- along with their benefits. Noobies really helps you keep an open mind and feel
less daunted by it all!

Finally- ours was done in the upstairs room of a pub- really chilled and a nice place to go week on week!

Best of luck!

LondonClaire · 05/10/2017 09:38

Oh and just to add- it was not a "tow the line" midwife- she criticised NHS where relevant, gave impartial advice, and told us all our options for pushing for the birth we want- even if it means having a fight on our hands. You benefit from the experience and humour of someone with years of experience- but you def don't lose out on the impartial aspect of NCT, as she isn't your local midwife assigned to your case.

Amelia261 · 20/10/2017 08:41

Thanks LondonClaire - really useful and I've booked to start them in November!

OP posts:
Aussi · 16/05/2018 15:03

Hello Amelia261

I know this is an old thread, but would love to know how you got on!

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