NCT Antenatal Classes vs NHS - can't decide!

[sarahseager]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to decide whether to go ahead and book NCT Antenatal Classes however the expense is making me question whether they are really worth it or whether NHS ones would be just as good.

I'm in Ipswich (just in case any of you have experience of the NHS ones) and we have many friends who have chosen to go with NCT classes and thought they were really good but we also have a friend who chose the NHS ones and thought they were perfectly adequate.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated!

Thanks,
Sarah

Hi there, we did both NCT and NHS and for me, I don't think NHS would have been enough. NCT we had 4 couples there so there was a lot of discussion led by us and our specific circumstances and worries etc could be fully addressed. In the NHS ones there were about 30 people in the class and it was more 'lecture' style as interaction was pretty limited due to numbers.

NCT was especially good for the partners I think, I would have probably read all the stuff anyway but it forced the partners to get involved and also gave us starting points for discussion after the sessions.

I do have to say though that a lot of the NCT preparation went out of the window at the actual birth as things didn't go to plan. However it was useful to feel prepared beforehand.

Also another point to note is that NCT is quite biased towards natural birth and breastfeeding so if you had strong feelings about this (i.e. you are planning to formula feed or have an epidural) then you may not find NCT particularly useful - lots of emphasis is on natural pain relief, skin to skin, breastfeeding etc.

Hope that helps!

I think you will need to find out info on what the provision is like at your local hospital in terms of NHS, and what the local NCT is like - as they vary so much.

I didn't pay for NCT - mostly because the hours they offered in my area were impractical. The NHS classes were very local to me, led by my team of midwives, and only had 4 couples at each one, so very interactive. In contrast a lady at the NHS ones who had paid for NCT said they had 10-12 couples at NCT so actually they were alot less personal. But, the general feel seems to be that NCT is all about making baby friends. SO it depends what you want to get out of it. I am happy that there are lots of clubs and things in my area once baby is born that I can access without paying out hundreds of pounds for the NCT classes.

ChessyEvans I'm doing NCT at the moment in the Cambridge area and they havn't been biased towards natural child birth and pain relief at all. Out teacher has taken great pains to make sure we are informed about everything that could happen to us, and is well prepared with the figures and studies to back up what she is saying. We spent over an hour discussing C-Sections this week, so the 2-3 of us that would end up having them (statistically) would be prepared.

OP I have found my classes so far very useful, and as i'm the first out of my local friends to have a baby it is also good to meet some people at a similar stage in their lives. I'm hopeful some of them will become good friends, for me that's worth the money! The NHS ones in my area are huge and held in a lecture theatre. I wanted more interaction that that!

I did NHS ones and they were fine, met some local friends. I thought about doing NCT but they tend to be a bit more middle-class-yummy-mummy round here and that's not me, so not so good for making friends!

We are planning to do both. We've booked the NCT and have registered with the MW that we would like to take part in the NHS ones too.

We are also in Cambridgeshire so good to hear your feedback on the courses Joannezipan!

we did both, nct was definitely worth it for us, they weren't anti drugs and formula either.
the nct does big discounts for low earners too, we got 50% off.
I still see most of my nct group most weeks, we all met up every week in each others houses for the first year.

I had this dilemma for ages and finally decided against it.

If you have the spare £££ for it then why not otherwise I would look at your reasons for doing it.

I wanted a social group of friends in the Same situation as my mates are either not ready for kids or have older kids. I also wanted to make hubby get involved which he would have been forced to. I have been told nhs ones were not that great.

But I posted on here and various websites and asked friends who had done them and there was such a mixed response it was even harder to decide! People said the couples were stuck up, groups could be cliquey, you might not find the group of friends you want, breastfeeding and certain birth methods were pushed on you etc. The good points were with those that were lucky to get a good group of people and a good midwife. It seemed a little too luck of the draw for me.

Sooooo I looked into the various groups you can attend after birth and found there are loads you can go to and try and if they are NOT for you, you haven't lost any money and can try another but if they are good groups then brilliant!! BUT even better I decided to join my local NCT Facebook group and have been invited to lots of social things and even pregnancy/birth sessions with nct volunteers and local mums in attendance! And that's free! My first group session is tomorrow so I'll let you know how I get on if you like?

As far as getting hubby involved we asked friends and have found some recommended DVDs and books which have been lent or bought 2nd hand online and have spent hardly anything! I do think some of the nct courses might not have gone down too well with him even tho mostly they would have been useful for him. The course was over 6 weeks too with some sessions lasting 6 hours in one hit which would have been too much, although in some places the max length of a session could be 3hours. The nct instructor I have spoken to has even offered to have a q&a session with us if he can make it to any of the free sessions.

How far gone are you? At first I was so worried about not knowing people in the same boat as me but now at31 weeks I have already begun making a group of friends via work or thru friends, you do kind of just meet people along the way and you have something in common which helps! I am doing the nhs free ones too as there is no harm in it and u may meet people there, plus I have joined an aqua natal class where my friend made netter friends than at her nct class! Plus I get to attend them during work as it helps my back and knees, the midwife that runs them is brilliant too.

Took me ages to decide either way but am happy I chose to save the money but am still not losing out and getting more chances to meet lots of different people more than at an nct class.

Better not netter

Personally, NCT is undoubtedly one of the best things I've ever done, but, not for what I learnt, there was nothing that I hadn't already read in books, on the internet etc, but I was very lucky with the group I was in. The babies are nearly 2 and we still meet up at least once a month, (it was often a couple of times a week when we were all on maternity leave). The support I felt in the first few weeks from this network was invaluable for me. But as others have said, I think we were lucky with our group. We haven't had a problem with cliques at all and all seem to genuinely like each other, I've made some friends for life, I'm sure of it.

NCT is great but completely lives up to it's reputation as basically a middle class dating agency - first session was all about finding who went to uni with who and extended discussions about horses (ladies) and motorcycles/rugby (chaps and erm, me). Might just be our area but if you aren't comfortable with the full-bore James and Cordelia show you might find it a bit trying.

Jimmy.. are you saying that the NHS ones don't do anything with the both of you, just the mother-to-be?

sleepy bump sorry if I've confused... our local nhs offers just 2 sessions (2 hours with average of 30people attending but no time allowed to ask questions, its a dvd watching session basically) which both mum and dad are welcome however they did say to me only bother inviting him to the pain session! The free session I referred to for q&a is a separate thing with nct worker who I have got in touch with via Facebook nct group. I've joined my towns Facebook group and the next towns too so I've got more choice. I'm sure it must be available around the uk.

We also get a tour of the shiny new midwifery led unit which we are not allowed to use until 2nd baby?? [sceptical]

Thanks JimmyChoo - Probably best I call my midwife and ask since I live fairly rural so might be different (I would certainly prefer a more personal session where both DP and I can ask questions) I'm also 'on the fence' about it, but hadn't realised it could be quite so impersonal :)

It amazes me how quick these things change. My friend in same area had 10 x 2 hour sessions on nhs and good support less than a year ago but now it's massive groups, less time and no support. I guess may be due to cuts....but its a shame midwifery keeps getting cut!

You can book 1-2-1 midwife sessions but you will pay more again.

I've just started my NCT classes and they have been great so far. The woman leading us is NOT biased towards natural birth etc and is giving us all the options. I thought I was quite clued up (after obsessive internetting!) but have learned loads.

There are eight couples on my course and as I don't live in a particularly posh area everyone is really nice and down to earth.

Thanks so much everyone for your amazing responses!

It has certainly given me food for thought and as money is getting tight with all the things we need to pay out for, I just don't think I can justify paying £166 for NCT when I think NHS will be perfectly adequate! I just hope the classes are not too large, but will check details with my midwife.
I also fully intend to make the most of the free groups that you can attend once baby is here and I'm thinking about going along to aquanatal classes soon too!

Jimmychoo - I'm 22 weeks today so i'm thinking if get on the case with a Facebook NCT group as well then I will definitely be able to take advantage of events going on if needs be. I would love to hear how you get on with your first group session - sounds ideal!

Thanks again xxx

Just to say all your comments are really useful as I am having the same dilemma currently.

Its good to find out about the Facebook groups as I didn't know about them so will investigate this first I think. My problem with the NCT is that my local group is full so will have to travel to another town and am not sure its worth it. It does sound like NHS vary quite widely though so will have to check with my midwife about the classes here.

I did NHS ones. Am glad I did - there were 6 evening sessions and then two separate sessions on breastfeeding. We went into details about all the things that could happen ie role played a CS and had a hospital tour.

I then went to NCT Bumps and Babes sessions after DS was born and also met up with people from the NHS classes. We met weekly until the (first) babies were about 4 (then we moved house). Quite a few people had gone to both NCT and NHS classes.

Given the way my later pregnancy and birth went I think if I had gone to NCT classes I might have felt I hadn't experienced the birth I was trying for, if that makes any sense. With the NHS classes I had a completely open mind.

My DS is 7 and don't know what NHS provision is like where we were now though.

Ab7ahm I had the same dilemma and if i had joined the different towns classes i would be travelling more than i would have liked if i made a good network of friends something u would need to factor in for the future when meeting up with petrol prices etc etc.

I have taken the view that can not afford a £150 gamble of getting everything else I wanted out of the group! Decided against it.

After this mornings session I have to say I am 100% happy with my decision NOT to do the classes. ( That being said if I had originally got my first choice of group and dates I pro ably would have booked it without a second thought)

The ladies were full of info, items you could borrow, info on local events/groups/free classes. Way more than I thought was available so I am glad I have decided against the actual classes.

So for the social side that I wanted to get, I am more than happy I will get that from one or more of the many free baby groups or pregnancy groups (groups/classes are a mix of nct) forres pregnancy prep as long as u are willing to prep yourself and attend nhs I would hope that would be enough. I have got a right variety of items for prep...hypnobirth cd...I'm not following the whole hypno birth approach but the breathing exercises as they are very useful and relaxing, aqua natal as it's run by a brilliant midwife, bought Haynes manual for dad as it's easy to read and provides info in man talk and also found some DVDs on childbirth that were recommended. I didn't want DVDs of other women just pushing out babies it would have been too much and we don't need to see non stop fanjo! So one with a mix of computer images and some real birth.

I feel loads happier about it all today.

Oh and the midwifery unit ban for 1 st time mums is a myth! Unless u r high risk of course.

My local free group does a few sessions on various topics and also social events.

Forres should read as for pre pregnancy....

Stupid iPad!!

I liked my NHS classes, we had 6 x 2hr sessions on a Monday evening and dads were more than welcome. Each session had a different focus and was a mix of talking, practical, and Q&A.

The first session was about labour and delivery, when to go to the hospital, delivery types, etc. They even had props! A shoebox lid with a 10cm tights-covered hole cut in it. They gradually pushed a baby doll (complete with a fabric placenta) through a slit in the tights in time with contractions, showed how the head turned, etc. Then they showed a ventousse delivery and a forceps delivery - the ventousse was a small plastic plant pot and the forceps were huge salad tossing forks. They discussed pain relief and the pros/cons of each method and caesareans. All of the community midwives have ha babies themselves at various points so they were also able to say from experience how they found the different types of pain relief/delivery. They asked which hospitals were in the group (there are loads in our area but generally only three are commonly used) and gave descriptions of where to go to get into the maternity department depending in whether you had to use the day or night entrance and a run-down of the facilities at each.

Second session was post-delivery, the post-natal ward, and the first few days at home.

Third and fourth sessions were positions for labour, massage, and breathing. They got a physiotherapist to come and show us lots of positions and things dad/birth partner could do. These two sessions involved lots of practice with partners rubbing backs and trying out all of the various labour/delivery positions and doing all the breathing too.

Session five was about birth plans, options, and choices. It was all presented fairly impartially and there were lots of opportunities to ask questions.

Session six was about your own post-natal care and recovery, healthy eating/exercise, warning signs of post-natal depression, etc.

There were also optional three hour seventh and eight sessions solely about breastfeeding.

I would speak to your midwife to see what their classes cover and what sort of feedback they've had about them.

Hi, I am in Ipswich and booked on an NCT course :-) not really sure what to expect but as its my first & I feel pretty clueless I thought I would give everything a go! I'm nearly 24 weeks x

I booked my NCT classes at 14 weeks. (and am pleased i did as got the last space on the course!)
I mentioned NHS classes to my midwife today (Im now 22+5) as nothing has ever been said, and she told me the NHS 'class' is ONLY a tour around the birthing unit... thats it!
Thank god im on NCT and booked it early as otherwise there wouldnt be any for me at all!

I know what you mean - all the ones for my due date were already fully booked when I looked into it when I was only about 14 weeks pregnant! Everyone thought I was mad looking so early. I couldnt believe they were already booked.. I have managed to get myself onto a course (the last place) but it is quite close to my due date so I'll probably be much further along than everyone else :-(