Antenatal classes? Yay or nay?

[1HitWonder]

Does anyone actually bother to book classes at your hospital?
Google is the never ending class that has so far satisfied all of my questions so I don't see what a teacher at a class can tell me that google can't...

Opinions ?

We went. Very glad we did. Not everything on Google is accurate.

There might be something that didn't cross your mind to Google. You always take away something from them.

I wouldn't normally bother with these classes but I was glad we went to the NHS one. There were lots of little tips I found really helpful... Like safety on high changing mats. Also lots of info was passed down from parents but is now out of date - the class gave me more confidence to 'defy' people who were telling me to do the opposite of what is now considered safe.
The only thing I would say is the room was boiling and very uncomfortable. I think it was a 2 hour session which was far too long IMO.

I didn’t bother and don’t regret it at all. I didn’t think I’d be comfortable in a random group and did plenty of reading both online and in books so felt very prepared.

That said, I was lucky enough to have friends having babies at the same time so had no need to meet other new parents. I might have felt differently if I hadn’t known anybody.

Yup, ours talked through a lot of things specific to our hospital, eg what the difference is between the MLU and the main labour ward, what the processes are in each, what they can optionally provide or what we could take to make the experience more comfortable, parking, middle of the night procedures etc.
All that as well as info around the stages of labour and available pain relief at different points according to my hospitals policies.
They also explained what follow up care is available in my area, weighing clinics, breastfeeding help, how many HV appointments to expect, where they'd be and what to expect at them. All the unknown stuff that isn't discussed in the usual antenatal appointments as that isn't the focus and there isn't time. Once you have the baby and leave the hospital there's not really anyone to ask so I was glad id had the opportunity to find out.

I'm glad we went to the antenatal classes too. It was good to see the hospital where I would give birth, they explained the processes in the hospital there, pain relief they had, birthing pools etc that would be avaliable. One of the classes we had the maternity physio in with us too & I found the excercises she showed us for pelvic pain really helpful. I know all hospitals & classes will be different but I would really recommend going to them.

I went with DC1. It was only 1 afternoon session which included the labour ward tour. Then I went to a separate breast feeding one which was for an hour.

This time just intend to do the bf one as a bit of a refresher as it's been nearly 7 years since DC1. Plus planned section this time so hearing about signs of labour and pain relief isn't very relevant.

Yes from me

I did both nhs and nct classes. NHS free ones were way better, more info and even though I knew a lot of the content already, it was given by a midwife in our area so was specific to our hospital policies etc.

I just did NCT. It was brilliant.

We did NCT. We didnt learn loads (some people did) but the circle.of friends we made have thus far been amazing. Best money i have spent in pregnancy.

I attended a free one, it was run by a council funded group that have links to all the children's centres. It was over 7 sessions at 2 hours each. Some were really good ( 2 sessions about labour and birth and our different options, 1 session about feeding), but some I felt weren't very useful. It also had 3 sessions after birth to help get us out of the house and to chat to others in the same situation, which I found very helpful.

I'm also glad I attended the sessions as I now have 2 lovely friends from that group.

Oh, forgot to say a health visitor attended all the sessions as well, and a midwife led the 2 sessions about our birth options and how labour progresses.

I did NCT, met some lovely people (even though I didn’t ‘need’ any more friends with kids) and have chosen to spend time with them and their kids since. Didn’t expect that outcome but it’s good to feel I’ve got a stronger network to support us through this parenting malarkey.

I went to one NHS session and it was comparable in quality and information. I honestly think people choose NCT over NHS freebie sessions so they’ve got more chance of meeting naice middle class people they can make friends with It’s a bit like paying the premium to shop at Waitrose or holiday at Center Parcs. Sorry if that sounds snobby but honestly think that’s the case where I live .