NCT Classes

[Spock27]

My DH and I moved to a new area recently and have been moving quite a lot over the past few years. I've heard that NCT classes are expensive ways to make new friends but we decided it was worth it and our first class is next week.

I've just received an email from them that we have to bring our own pillows, a yoga ball if we'd like to sit on one, and our own mugs for tea. I'm paying £200 for this, is it normal that they don't even provide these very basic items?

The classes are walking distance from my work and I use public transport to get to work so wasn't planning on going home in between, but now I'm going to have to or bring pillows to work. Just wanted to know if this is normal for NCT classes?

We got told to bring our own pillows. I took one to the first two classes and didn't use it. Never took it again and whatever we were meant to use them for never came up!

Tea / coffee, I think depends on the venue. Ours was held in a church so had some available.

The yoga ball will just be if that's how you're most comfortable sitting.

We were told that if we wanted to bring pillows or birth balls for our own comfort then we could. I didn't bother.

Ours provided tea coffee etc and those disposable cup things. Much better to bring your own mug!

I would say try not to think about the cost or it'll drive you bonkers. It's so invaluable to have a ready made set of people who you can text all through the night when you're up doing night feeds. Worth its weight in gold.

Yoga ball and pillows are just to make you comfy and for you to try out birthing positions. You can just try them out at home.

Sit on a plastic chair and drink from a paper cup..... Then you can complain you spend £200 on that.

Is it really £200 or did you add in the membership too?

Ok thanks everyone :)

yummy I wasn't complaining, just wondering if it's normal.

I think they provided yoga mats for the class we went to. It was shocking and we learnt very little but everyone knows Nct is just all about meeting some good friends in same position as you...at least that's if you're lucky! Everyone had to take a plate of food in for a long day we had one Saturday!

Yes it's normal, they just use hired venues so often wont have access to cups and tea and so on. The pillows etc are just to make
You comfy as others have said. I didn't take any as I didn't have any problems sitting normally in pregnancy.

Good luck. They are really really good

I didn't have to bring anything! We got tea, biscuits and uncomfortable chairs.

Ours was in a church hall and our nct lady provided tea and biscuits from her own pocket. I never bothered taking along pillows or anything.

yummy price depends on area, it was 190 in my area for the signature course, that didn't include the membership.

We weren't asked to bring anything. The course cost £170 and tea, coffee and biscuits were provided for the two days. I think the experience is worth it if you can afford it. They must be done slightly differently in differently areas.

It's £245 where I am excluding membership (which I didn't bother with). I've not been yet so can't comment if it's good value or not. I'm considering cancelling and doing a cheaper alternative...

To rant add I emailed the organiser on Sunday to ask how many people were booked on the course and haven't had any kind of acknowledgement of receiving my email. I'd be bollocked if I did that at work. It doesn't fill me with happy £245 thoughts.

I did NCT last year. And no we didn't have to bring mugs or pillows! Hot drinks & biscuits were provided. The classes were awful. Useless. But the upside is that I made some friends!

Our classes were held in the instructor's home, so I wouldn't think she'd have had storage for all those pillows & yoga balls even though the house was enormous She provided the mugs for tea though.

We were asked to bring pillows and stuff.
The classes weren't amazing and they mostly covered stuff I already knew but DD is almost 10 weeks now and whatsapping the other mums, meeting for coffee and walks has helped keep sane. It was definitely worth it.

You probably won't need them everytime - we just used them for a couple of hours on labour positions. In fact it was silly for all of us to bring them as we moved around the different scenarios and ended up with loads of balls sat in the corner. We were encouraged to bring cakes and treats to share, which helped break the ice a bit. It was pricey but 18 months on I'm still meeting for meals, drinks, spa days etc with a lovely group of girls. My friends who did the midwife sessions didn't find it very friendly and they did not make long-term pals.

it seems from the numerous nct threads on here, that it's quite variable/hit and miss whether you get a good group/good instructor/good venue etc, and whether you like it.

we finished ours 2 weeks ago and thought they were great, sure i knew lots of it, but not everything. It definitely increased my confidence around labour/birth etc (and particularly dh's), and we met some nice people.

we were very lucky in that our course was held in the instructors beautiful big house, she was obviously very experienced, we didn't need to take anything and she provided plentiful drinks and biscuits!

From the other side (baby is now 5.5 months old) I think the 200 odd quid we paid was so worth it- the network of support we have had pre and post baby has been invaluable; it's completely different from family or friends as you're all in the same boat and going through it at the same time.