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Pregnancy

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

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Original poster

Are private antenatal classes worth it?

12 replies

tossacoin1 · 09/06/2020 14:29

I had originally planned to have private antenatal classes with hubby, they were once a week for 6 weeks and 2 hours a time. However I spoke to a couple of friends and they couldn't believe I was doing it and said they couldn't think of anything worse. They also said it's a lot of money when you can go to the NHS ones for free. Anyone been and would recommend or are the NHS ones just as good?

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Twizbe · 09/06/2020 14:30

I did NCT and really enjoyed it. I got a good group of local mum friends from it and learnt lots about breastfeeding and local post natal support. I don't think I would have got that help from the NHS ones as my hospital is in a different borough to all the support.

bestnest · 09/06/2020 14:32

Congrats on your pregnancy!

I have a 9mo DD and went to private classes and found them helpful, but the main benefit was making friends/a support network which I really think is priceless. This week is mostly spent seeing my NCT friends and babies and it's lovely! We're all in the same boat and have shared tips/struggles/achievements over the last year.
I think with the NHS ones they are only one session? (I may be wrong), so I'm not sure how much time you have to bond.

Either way, good luck with your pregnancy

BeMorePacific · 09/06/2020 14:55

I did a 6 week course, I didn’t go with my OH it was just the pregnant person. It was very worthwhile x

Livingoffcoffee · 09/06/2020 15:03

I did a private course and the biggest thing for me was that me and DH met a good group of other parents in the same life stage as us. It was so helpful in the newborn stage to have a WhatsApp group of people all dealing with the same things. I've made some good friends out of it (and my DS's first friend!)

CupcakesK · 09/06/2020 15:03

I did an NHS one - did all of the sessions on one day at the weekend so DP could come. Feel that from an information point of view it covered everything I needed and friends said nothing much different at private classes.

The main reason I didn’t do an NCT class was that there were none available near me, so making friends would have been pointless. Instead I did a pregnancy yoga class, made some great friends and felt the yoga really helped with my hip pain and other pregnancy ailments!

SnuggyBuggy · 09/06/2020 15:08

I chose an NCT as it was more local than the hospitals. Its more as a way to meet people.

That said I think they are all virtual now so I personally wouldn't bother.

mable88 · 09/06/2020 15:28

We just started our NCT class on Zoom last night and it was really good. The NHS antenatal classes are all cancelled at the moment (or at least they are in my area and aren't likely to start back up again before my baby is due) and I've been given a link by the midwife to some online NHS videos instead of the classes, but they are prerecorded - the nice thing about NCT is that you have the chance to ask questions during the session as you think of them.

Minkies13 · 09/06/2020 15:59

I did NCT and it was great

2020Aug · 10/06/2020 05:58

I'm currently doing NCT and really enjoying it. It's nice to have met (albeit virtually at the moment) people who live nearby who are having babies at the same time.

Desertserges · 10/06/2020 06:08

NCT classes won’t tell you anything that isn’t available for free in NHS classes or in the standard pregnancy books. People do it to meet other people having babies around the same time, rather than for the information, but my NCT group just didn’t get on — we saw one another a few times and drifted apart almost immediately. So it was a very expensive route to a couple of dull coffee mornings with people who didn’t gel. I wouldn’t do it again.

CoolNoMore · 10/06/2020 06:17

It was worth it for me, but it pretty much was paying to meet friends and try out a load of different slings. There was a lot of great info as well and the lady that ran it was one of the most gentle, but somehow also badass people I have ever met. She worked as a doula and I can imagine how she would be a fantastic person to have my your side during birth. This was Bump and Babies, though, and a lot of the other ladies seemed to have rejected NCT for similar reasons as I did, so maybe we bonded a bit more as a result.

I also did an NHS one on breastfeeding, but there were about 40 of us in a room, no time to chat and nobody seemed keen to anyway. That was very much just for the info (which was very interesting).

So yes, it's pretty much paying for friends, but for me that was absolutely worth it.

ellesbellesxxx · 10/06/2020 06:56

NCT was great for making friends.. I would recommend!

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