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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Anyone had NCT antenatal classes? Are they worth it?

20 replies

cherryontopp · 18/08/2017 10:07

£170 it will be got a 4/5 week course.

I've been trying to look up free antenatal classes in my area but I seem to be at work for all them!
I work shifts and these NCT classes seem like the only ones I can actually make.

Will they tell me anything a baby book won't? Is it worth the money?

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krakentoast · 18/08/2017 10:15

Everyone seems to say they're mostly just useful for making parent friends.

I would have considered going to some but they don't run them in my area so I'm just going to have to go the free NHS ones and get time off work for them (why do they do them at 4pm on a weekday?!)

If you're unsure, you could think about what else £170 might be useful for - could it buy a sturdier cot, or some nice new post-maternity clothes to make you feel better after having the baby, and would that be worth more to you? I suspect it might be for me, but then I'm an antisocial fucker.

MyBlackCat · 18/08/2017 10:20

I did them over two Sundays - nothing that you couldn't find out online or in a book, however my motivation was to make new friends and we all meet once a week and get on really well so money well spent for me x

PerpetualStudent · 18/08/2017 10:23

I did them - slightly reluctantly - with DS1. The making friends angle was the one I heard the most, and it sort of wound me up. I had the option that I already had friends, why did I need a new set, and who says having pushed a baby out at roughly the same time is a reasonable basis for a friendship anyhow?!
I will happily admit I was wrong on that one! Our group ended up being amazingly close knit and supportive, and we still meet regularly 2 1/2 years later!

annandale · 18/08/2017 10:28

The leader of ours was great - extremely crunchy and old school hippy but also vastly experienced. She let us lead the discussion where we wanted it to go with the result that we had in depth discussion about c-sections, epidurals, pethidine, breastfeeding etc as well as lots of basic but in fact to me unfamiliar stuff about the process of birth. She put me in touch with new mums on my street who I hadn't met and she also knew the local hospitals inside out, pros and cons. It is all about the leader so ask around - ask your midwife or stop new mums in the street as they will usually be desperate for a friendly conversation

We also made a fun group and that was great in the early days although tbf in my case now that ds is a teenager I'm only really in touch with one other parent from the group. We are close though. However I do know a newly married couple who met as babies when their parents went to NCT...

Lemondrop99 · 18/08/2017 10:34

£170 is cheap!!! It costs double that in London!! I've just finished my course and we all have a few weeks to go until labour.

The course itself was on medium use, I learned a fair bit but equally probably could have got by without the info. Our regular teacher was lovely and not the "airy, fairy, hippy" type I imagined. We had some very useful conversations about pain relief etc. The only disappointment was our breastfeeding session, which we had with a specialist who was rubbish.

I mostly did it to make friends. A lot of my friends have moved out of London over the years due to house prices and been forced up north. Of the ones remaining, none of them have children. I wanted to meet some mums in the area to share my maternity leave with.

Mostly I wanted some first time mums to share this experience wit. Yes I could have made some friends at baby groups etc at a later date, but that would have been after labour and those gruelling early days. With the NCT group I now have a solid supportive group of other women who will go through labour for the first time, try to breast feed for the first, who I can Wassap at 3am when I'm sobbing! It's a totally different type of support. I suppose it's a gamble on who you get, but our group are lovely and I hope to stay in contact with them for a long time.

The course was overpriced but ultimately worth it for me.

SaS2014 · 18/08/2017 10:47

Your midwife should be able to give you details for NHS classes. They usually hold them in evening. Tho in my area it's only 2 classes. 1 on pain relief & labour and one on caring for newborn. So less in depth than NCT but depends what you are looking for.

NinaMarieP · 18/08/2017 10:49

You are legally entitled to paid time off work to attend antenatal classes. I just went to the NHS ones, labour & birth, early days with a newborn and feeding a baby and they were really good. As they were done by midwives from the hospital I was going to deliver at they could be pretty specific about their policies and details like that.

NC1990 · 18/08/2017 10:53

As above you are entitled to time off for pregnancy-related appointments. My NHS antenatal classes are on a Monday morning (why!!) but I'll get the time off so not such an issue.

Lemondrop99 · 18/08/2017 11:03

Technically you are only allowed paid time off work for antental classes if they have recommended by a doctor or a midwife.

Classes are a bit different to antenatal appointments. NCT classes are optional, as are NHS classes so it depends on your employer. Some employers will be happy to let you go, but they would be within their rights to ask you to prove that you had medical advice to attend to allow you paid time off.

Bobbiepin · 18/08/2017 11:24

I'm booked in for NCT but haven't booked any NHS ones. Is it worth doing both? TBH an ex student of mine is due around the same time and I'm a little worried about bumping into her at a class!

Oysterbabe · 18/08/2017 11:35

Our babies are about 18 months and we still all meet regularly. We're having a picnic this weekend in fact.

NC1990 · 18/08/2017 12:27

Certainly in the employee handbook at my company, it states 'paid time off for pregnancy related appointments and antenatal classes', so may be worth checking that OP.

DucksGoWoof · 18/08/2017 12:32

I did them and it was totally worth it, and as everyone says it was the social side of it. If it hadn't been for them and my MN antenatal group, things would have been a lot harder. We are all still friends 2.5 years later!

ForeverHopeful21 · 18/08/2017 16:58

I have no personal experience, however, from another perspective:
I'm a prenatal massage therapist, and over the years I have treated a lot of pregnant ladies and therefore get to hear a lot of pregnancy chat!

A lot of my clients have attended NCT classes and all of them say how beneficial it was. My ladies that have since had their babies still keep in contact with their NCT friends and say how vital this has been ...having a support network with others going through the same thing at a similar time. Many of my clients from years ago still meet up with their group and have made great friends out of it.

I'm pregnant now and from what all my clients have told me, I'll definitely be joining a NCT group when the time comes.

Penguin27 · 18/08/2017 17:34

I haven't been to any, but signed up to an NCT course today not helpful

MagicMoneyTree · 18/08/2017 21:48

I did and it was worth every penny. Wasn't bothered about making friends as I already have plenty of those, so I signed up to educate me and DH about labour, feeding, the early days, etc. Can honestly say DH was hugely supportive during my labour and it's down to everything he learnt at those classes.

And those friends I wasn't bothered about making have all been wonderful, as have their partners. We still meet up frequently. I didn't expect to find their support during those early days so invaluable but there's nothing quite like a show of hands when you're thinking "anyone else fed up with the night feeds?"

Would highly recommend them!

MagicMoneyTree · 18/08/2017 21:52

Bobbiepin when I mentioned to my midwife that I had signed up to NCT classes but might do the NHS ones too, her exact words were "don't bother" - so I didn't!

mummabubs · 18/08/2017 22:33

Personally despite much pressure from my sister-in-law to do them I decided not to- the cheapest course by me was £250 and her argument was that I should do NCT rather than the NHS course as it was important for me to meet "the right kind" of mums. I genuinely can see the benefit of them to some extent but I still think they are massively overpriced and if I'm honest although she has lots of friends from NCT the way she talks about them it just seems like a massive judgement/competition fest and she'll still happily complain and bitch about the way that all these other "friends" parent too!

I decided to go for Daisy antenatal classes, which cost a fraction of the price at £60 and I've already met a lot of lovely people through that. I'm also doing the NHS classes as Daisy only covers labour, but I've heard a lot of NCT courses are run by NHS professionals anyway so you get the same information at both. Completely your choice OP but just wanted to say despite meeting a lot of surprise/ negative response to me saying I didn't want to do NCT I'm very happy at this stage that I've chosen not to 😊

EssentialHummus · 18/08/2017 22:45

I did both nhs and nct courses. The NHS course was far better in terms of content and structure - taught by a very experienced, engaging, no-nonsense midwife, who covered a huge amount in a practical, factual way. I left feeling very confident in the NHS and my own abilities.

The NCT course was terrible by comparison. The lady leading it was very friendly but not all that knowledgeable, and a few bits that should have been factual (eg signs of early labour) turned into vague, "what do people think", no clear outcome type discussions.

But, like others, I've stayed in touch with my group and can see us being a good support network when the babies finally turn up. I just resent paying £230 for their details (London, the dodgy end ).

rachrach2 · 18/08/2017 23:12

I did a local equivalent and I made the best friends money can buy! I enjoyed the classes and learnt a bit (breastfeeding section was by far the most informative), my husband learnt a lot as he hadn't read or had in depth conversations with friends about it.

The other couples and their children are lovely. No competitiveness, only support. The ladies and babies met up loads in the first year when most of us were off and their love, advice and companionship was amazing. 4 years on we are all still in touch and we are solid friends with 3 of the families and see them very regularly.

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