Antenatal classes in Croydon Area

[firstyme]

Hi All
I am new to this forum.Im due on 8th Dec.
Till now I wasnt woried about going to antenatal classes but now everyone around me seem to be asking this question.
I haventdone much research in this area till now.Some one told me about joingin NCTclasses and paying around £200.00. Is it really worth it??
Im sure there mustbe some free classes happ around in croydon area.
If anyone can give me some advice regarding this, that'll be great(as you can see from my nick name I am a first timer!!)

There will almost defn be a local NHS class - but it might be quite limited (eg I was offered 1 x 3 hour session - there would have been about 20 other mums + their partners...)

Is it worth it? I'll try & sum up what I've read on here...

Advs of NCT classes mostly revolve around the fact that you get a much smaller class & more time.

• usually get strong bond to other couples (most meet up regularly when babies come) whereas large grps at NHS make this harder
• more one to one attention/potential to ask all your questions
• usually better coverage of breastfeeding
• more time = more indepth coverage
• better at encouraging you to think through your options
• an 'impatial' view that takes into account what is best practice, rather than easiest for the midwives/hospital/doctors

First adv is probably the one most people would talk about post birth. Can make a hige difference.

Disads:

• quality & inclusivity of teaching can vary (but then that's true of NHS)
• some people find them too natural birth focused - whereas NHS ones will be tailored to what will actually happen in your hospital so might be more 'realistic'

IMHO, worth the dosh - purely for the support network of 8 local mums who are going through the same thing at the same time.

(Oh, and if money is really an issue, NCT will offer reduced rates)

HTH!

Thanks for all this !!