Is NCT worth it?

[artisticat]

I've heard good things about NCT classes for meeting other Mums and gaining a support network in your area.

Being the first out of my friends to have a baby this could be invaluable, I have one friend due 5 weeks after me, but she lives an hour away, so I was set on doing NCT..

Until I saw the price... £352! Is it worth it? It seems like a lot of money, we could afford it but obviously don't want to spend unnecessarily when there's so many things we need to get for baby and do in the house etc.

All opinions appreciated!

Some will say yes for the friends you make and a network of support etc. I however hate that the NCT (IMO) seem to be coasting on this. I didn’t do an NCT course the first time and found friends with babies the same age through baby groups etc. You do not need to pay that much for friends.

This time I have booked a course with a different company run by midwives.

We’re still friends with the other NCT couples 5 years on.
In terms of what you learn, a lot of it won’t apply to you depending on your own circs, but some will be useful to you so I still think it’s worth doing.

It’s also worth knowing that they are not the only provider of antenatal. We must be in an area similar to yours given the price and others cost almost half that and you’d still meet other couples.

Ah so does NCT price differ on area? I applied for the one in Walthamstow, I was so shocked with NCT being a charity I thought it'd be around £100!

www.nct.org.uk/courses/course-prices?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8Lrp0I2b1wIVrbztCh1BDAPVEAAYASABEgJFiPD_BwE

This is where I found the info.

I have been trying to decide this myself as well.
Heard mainly really great things about NCT but it is very expensive.

I don't really have any of my friends living that close by, and my family are all about an hour away too. So I am keen to make some good friends so I can have a local support network.
From what I have read the NCT does seem to be the best for building good friendships.

I'm based in Essex, and have had an email from NCT advising it will be £432 all in. I'm not so sure now, as it does seem a lot of money.

Yeah it's quite tough isn't it. I'd really like to do hypnobirthing and have a Doula, so something is going to have to give!

I found the NCT class worth the money after the first session, it was very, very good. We only paid about £180 for the NCT Signature antenatal class, however.

I did and and loved it, I’ve made eight genuine friends through it that I couldn’t be without, now! Also don’t live near my family so it’s been brilliant to have that support network. Spent the first six months of mat leave rotating around our respective houses for weekly meet-ups and still see them when I can.

I live in a cheaper area though so signature was £180ish for me, if I’d still been in London I remember it was lots more, like you. Is there an option of the essentials course for you?

I looked on the website and there seem to be lots of courses on offer - which one is best?

Also in terms of making friends is it better to do the one that’s 8 or so evening sessions rather than the one that’s 2 full Saturdays?

We did the 8 evenings and paid about £100 ish. It was worth every penny to meet the fabulous bunch of people I did who I wouldn’t have got through mat leave without, however the sessions themselves were pretty rubbish!

I did it and thought it worth every penny but was £200 (still a lot though!!) found it invaluable to talk with people with kids the same stage as people forget so easily what it’s like even 3/4 months further on. If like us you don’t have family nearby, another excellent reason to sign up.
We’re all very good friends however I’ve known others in groups that haven’t bonded very well so it’s a gamble.
I have a friend who’s teaching hypnobirthing and I don’t think it costs so much if you wanted to also do that.

Some local NHS midwives offer hypnobirthing courses.

We paid £120 for 5 two hour classes; content was helpful to a point but meeting other new parents was invaluable.
Give them a call and see what’s available

It's a gamble really, you may make a lovely supportive group of friends and get lots of great preparation and info for childbirth and baby care.

But tbh you may not - our group didn't click, only made token efforts to meet up afterwards, and I haven't seen any of them since the babies were born, and the course itself was much less useful than our free NHS course. Guess we were unlucky.

In Walthamstow there'll be loads of baby groups, playgroups etc so you can just meet people there.

Not sure why I am being charged so much in my area, as nobody else seems to be paying anywhere near the amounts that I have been quoted.

The courses do sound like what I am looking for, but at the same time I feel like I am being majorly ripped off with the price just because I live in Essex!!

ClaireBear1986 they do charge different amounts depending on where you live. You can find the different prices online. In Surrey we paid similar to your quote.

Yes also look for other antenatal classes. In NW London for example there are a range of other more economical providers and all fit the bill in terms of meeting other parents of babies due at the same time as yours!

That said, we are doing NCT as well.. feeling a bit sceptical about socialising but trying to give it a go!

I found it invaluable for making friends and still in touch with three of the couples after nine years. In terms of duration impacting on likelihood of getting to know people - I don't think it matters either way - I did the weekend course and didn't know people that well at the end of it but we swapped emails and then started having email conversations and then meeting up before and after all of the births.

I did it a long time ago, it was a lot cheaper then, the classes were fine but I didn't really fit in the demographic of the group, I was in my mid twenties and not married to my partner and was planning to go back to work.
Then I had a few complications with the birth and really struggled with breast feeding and had to eventually give up. my partner and I split up when our son was three months (my decision and totally was the right thing to do)
The other couples were perfectly fine but we really had very little in common, even before my post birth experiences and I felt a bit like I was letting the group down.
I did click with one couple and we did keep in touch for about a year before they moved away from the area.
So not a supportive experience at all in my case unless you "fit in with the group"
I didn't bother with NCT when I had my second child with a new partner

Are there any other providers in your area?

I found a cheaper NCT class which is the 'essentials' at £228, which is in Tottenham. I might consider doing this one. I'll have a shop around for other ante natal classes too. Thanks for all of your advice, I think I'd like to do an ante natal class as my family are 5 hours drive away and I'll only have one friend with a baby, your responses have helped me decide this!

I did the course 4years ago and I’m not really in touch with any of them anymore. They were (mostly) all nice but we didn’t really click as one of the group seemed to be on some kind of divide and rule campaign!

I moved to a new area whilst pregnant with my 2nd and I’ve met all my friends through baby groups and coffee mornings. The friendships I’ve made this time around are far stronger.

NCT is fine but don’t rely on it completely.

Do you have any Daisy classes near you. I found a lot of my nct class very cliquey and mean girls like and wish J had done Daisy instead.

I think NCT does attract those people who don't have any friends with a baby and have no family support nearby, so it can be useful to make connections if you're in that situation.

My group were lovely but four out of the six of us moved away. I was fortunate in that we moved to the same town as another of the group and we're good friends a decade later. Our dc still sit next to one another in class aged 12.

But I think it's just as easy to make friends at say hospital led classes. I met another friend at the health visitor's group, where you go for coffee and weigh ins. Then more at a particularly nice toddler group in a church. I know various people from swimming lessons, gymnastics etc. Standing watching things, you end up chatting. You find that you'll have a phase of not being in the same place at the same time, then years later you'll find yourself together again.

When the baby is tiny though there aren't that many groups you can go to. It's good to have a few people to spend the days with as it can be a very lonely time if you're used to working.