Antenatal classes: NCT and NHS?

[purplesquares]

Hello, I signed up to NCT classes really early on in my pregnancy but have since heard that they're not that great in terms of practical information. My midwife has pointed me to some local NHS ones - has anyone done both? Is it worth the time or will we essentially just be hearing the same information delivered in a different way? Thanks!

I didn't do either and was just fine.

From what I gather, the NCT ones are more about making friends with other mums.

I'm interested to hear what people say, as I'm due next spring.

I have a couple of friends with babies, who are very positive about NCT. They tend to be more local, and because you have to pay, the mums are all a bit more invested.

I only did the NHS ones, there were just two 2 hour sessions, one was based mainly around pain relief options in labour and preparing for labour and then the other one was mainly about caring for baby after its born and a lot about breastfeeding.

It felt very informative but also very basic, the amount of info easily could have spread to 5 or 6 sessions in my opinion but I guess the NHS is just too stretched.

Perhaps go to the NHS ones first and then see if you feel like you need more info / support? I personally didn't and the NCT ones can be quite expensive.

Our NCT class was really informative and covered a wide range of topics from how a typical labour progresses to who is in the room during a CS to bathing a baby and poo! Despite a wide range of birth experiences and parenting styles I think we all got something out of it. I think it does depend a bit on the leader though. They brought a specialist in for the bf part and she was awful! Really off putting.

The NCT ones were great for making friends, I've stayed in touch with mine from four years ago. The information is nothing you can't get online but you have more opportunities to ask questions as the course is longer and more in depth than the NHS one. However, the NHS one includes a tour of the hospital which might help ease any fears you might have or help you decide where to give birth.

It's worth mentioning that NCT membership, which is included in the course, entitles you to priority entry into the nearly new sales which will save you a small fortune!

We did nct signature and they tailor it to the needs of your group with plenty of opportunity for discussion and no question is too stupid to ask. Also its max 8 couples so quite intimate . There is a bf session, a womens only session that looks at things such as tearing and lots of mixed and single gender group work. Its always worth finding some literature such as a pregnancy book and or app (i have what to expect and bounty), but even though through my own reading and employment experience i knew quite alot of what we covered, there's a huge amount we both learnt- from normal rashes and skin changes on a new born, breast feeding positions to what is normal neonate poo in the early days for bf and formula fed.
And you get a 3am support group.
You can always do both, but i certainly recommend doing some kind of course.

I think the NCT classes are great in terms of information. I only took the NHS breastfeeding class, but it was definitely a waste of time and not very informative. It was basically about why breastfeeding is so great and we blew up balloons and drew nipples on them. There was no actual information about breastfeeding really though. The NHS classes tend to be good though in terms of teaching you about hospital services, the sort of care you'll get, etc. so if you're having a hospital/birth centre birth, there is practical information about what to expect on the ward, etc. I was having a home birth, which is why I skipped them as I really didn't need to know any of that. The benefits I think of NCT (other than creating a social network) is that they are just more in depth. I think ours was over 6 weeks or so, 2-3 hours per session. The NHS realistically can't (and shouldn't) offer something that extensive. I felt like I got everything I needed from NCT, but no harm in doing the NHS ones if you have the time.

We are doing both :)

We did both. NHS was much, much better in terms of content- taught by two non-nonsense experienced midwives who tailored the content to cover what we wanted.

NCT, content-wise, was a pile of steaming bollocks as I was taught it (so possibly just our facilitator?), but the cliched thing of walking away with seven friends has happened. So I’d pay for it again, for that reason, but I feel like the NCT as I experienced it is massively coasting.

I did both. They did focus on slightly different things but to be completely honest you could manage without either if you do a bit of research (and ask on here if there’s anything you’re not sure of). As others have said, the NCT ones are good for meeting local new mums.

I did both. Agree they're good for different purposes. Since the NHS ones are free you might as well at least go for the first session and see if it suits you

The cliché that you do NCT to buy friends was absolutely true in our case. They were an absolute lifeline in the first year.

The quality of the content does seem to vary pretty wildly so I would encourage you to talk to friends who have used NCT locally. I really did my homework and booked early on to a course with a very well-respected leader. She was a trainee midwife (I imagine she’s fully qualified now) and there was absolutely none of the cult-of-natural-birth nonsense that some people seem to experience with NCT.

There are other courses too. We looked at daisy parent (or something with a similar name), but i let hubby choose nct as its important you both learn together so you are a team with the same info.
I would advocate having a midwife taught class regardless of who you choose.
Breastfeeding will always be advocated and encouraged as breastfeeding rates in the UK are pretty low, but the the key to improving this is good education and continued support - we learnt lots about feeding positions, how to recognise a good latch, expressing, milk production problems, how partners can help, local support services etc.
But even little things like birthing positions, complications, interventions and the cascade of further interventions that can follow are all good to be informed about. Midwives don't want to provide lots of unnecessary interventions if a natural birth is possible because everything has its own risk.
I didn't do nct courses to buy a group of friends, i did it to maximise my knowlege of birthing and the early days of being a parent, but it is obviously nice having a 3am support group or a mummy friend if needed.
Research all the local options and see what works for you.