Is NCT membership worth it?

[Cosmo89]

I'm thinking of doing the NCT ante natal course, which (in my area) is coming in at a staggering £300. I was thinking of saving the £40 by not signing up for membership but I'll spend the cash if it's worth it....

To be honest, in two minds about the course. It's a huge amount of money. But can't seem to find an NHS one that fits in with my dates/work and, as it's my first, I feel somewhat at sea.

Any advice out there?

Everyone will have different opinions and experiences. Mine was that NCT course was invaluable. We met some fantastic people who we are close friends with 3 years later. The content of the course was far more detailed and personal than the NHS course which was only 1hr. Honestly, I would really recommend it.

Membership however - We are still members (direct debit jobby that probably needs cancelling!) and we don't get much for it at all. A magazine a few times a year, and priority entry to the nearly new sales. Not really worth it imo. But if I remember, we had to join to be allowed on the course...maybe check that?
Hope that helps :)

I would recommend doing the course, if only to make friends with a group in the same situation. It can be very isolating when baby arrives and my NCT group were my saviour. We kept one another going when things got tough and we still meet every week now (three years on).

The classes are also very informative and, in my experience, had much more depth than the NHS classes. They also didn't overly push the "natural" thing, which they sometimes have a reputation for doing.

Re. membership, I was a member and the only real advantage was getting into their nearly new sales before all the other punters. At lots of sales you can do this anyway by volunteering on the day so it's probably not worth it.

Gosh that's expensive. About what stage in your pregnancy are the classes/do you need to sign up?

I know! Prices vary across the country I think, so it's not a standard - just where I blooming live!
I'm signing up now and I'm due in early June. The classes are for late April/early May. Didn't think I'd want to do it later.
Thanks everyone for your comments - I'll have to double check but I think the membership is optional for doing the course; in which case, I'll probably not bother. I've got quite a lot of access to borrowed stuff/2nd hand things so I'll probably be ok on that front.

I had my last nct class last night, ours cost £170 without membership. You don't need to be a member to go to any of the coffee mornings or anything like that.

I wouldn't have even considered joining the NCT or doing an NCT course, but my midwife strongly recommended it, partly (I think) because I have a history of anxiety and depression, and she feels I will need the support of other women with new babies.

OP, I think membership is optional for doing the course. The course didn't really teach me or my husband anything we didn't already know from other sources (apart from the beastfeeding bit, which was useful) but it was a million times better than the NHS courses at our hospital, and there was something reassuring about meeting other people in the same situation, and we're planning to keep meeting.