NCT online

[Stargazer87]

Just wondering how people have been finding NCT since it's moved online? One of my main reasons for signing up was the social aspect and making new friends - I'm due to start classes this week and our Whatsapp group had been set-up, people have joined but nobody has said a thing??

I thought the social side was pretty good (although slow to start) but I thought the course was crap. Would definitely not recommend (and I am waiting on the outcome of a formal complaint).

In my area it’s prioritised for first time mums so I don’t count for it. Shame as it’s been 9 years since my first and wouldn’t mind doing it again

Oh really? Can I ask why it was so bad?

We're halfway through the course now - it's been really nice to meet other couples and has definitely helped my DH feel more involved in the birth etc which is great. Lots of breakout sessions for the mums/dads-to-be so you get time to chat, and we've got a whatsapp group going and planning a meetup in a couple of weeks (barring any new lockdowns!). It does take a bit more effort to get chat going and more difficult of course than in person but we really don't know any parents so for us it's worth a try!

The only thing I would say about the content is some of the info is quite clearly geared in one direction, they're not huge fans of interventions - inductions, C-sections etc. So worth taking all that with a pinch of salt if you're not dead set on a 'natural' birth. But I'm sure that would be the case online or otherwise!

We're doing an online NCT too so I'd be interested to hear experiences? We're only doing it really for my DH's benefit (his first) as I have two already, and for the social aspect so I'm hoping it's not going to be terrible! I have heard mainly good things though to be honest.

We are really enjoying it so far. We have lots of opportunities to chat during the sessions. We have a WhatsApp group set up but it took a week or so for that to get going. I think people were waiting for someone to take the lead and start initiating conversation.

We did it and it was great.

I would say it all comes down to the instructor and the group you end up having. Our instructor was really fun and engaging, she had a lot of knowledge also on the situation in our chosen hospitals where we were giving birth, with Covid etc, so that was helpful.

It was balanced overall, could you find some of the info online - yes obviously you could, but for us it worked well as we could ask specific questions too.

Our WhatsApp group was slow to start with but since the babies have also arrived, we've already met a few times for socially distances picnics and we've also got a boys and girls chat going which has been so supportive throughout.

Just expanding on the view about them having a geared way we have signed up to Bump and Baby instead as a modern version and they were £70 cheaper.

I found online classes rubbish, social aspect was okay. Once the course started people started chatting albeit not much. Once I offered a meet up everyone agreed. We are not very close to each other, no one from our town which is a bummer. I don't think we'll be meeting much although everyone is lovely purely because of needing to drive for it.

@WhatWouldPennyDo I wrote a very negative feedback on their survey, I just found our instructor was so not tech savvy it was ridiculous and it was so chaotic, jumping from subject to subject. No written material to keep after to go over things either. What was your complaint if you don't mind me asking?

We've got our first session tomorrow - what can I expect? Do you do intros and get to find out about each other?

Good for the social side but the instructor was fruit loop!

Whatever time slot they've given you, allow an extra 30mins for each session because every single one of ours over ran.

We set up our own socially distant meet ups outside of NCT, and our own NCT mummies group which has been a godsend, particularly where partners haven't been allowed attend for early stages of labour. Babies are being born now (3 out of 6 so far) and they've all been messaging our mummies group alone from the antenatal ward for support and 'come in numma you've got this!' type stuff. And all the silly questions....and all the 3am wit hung hours or midnight feeds etc. Its very reassuring to know you're not alone and others are going through the exact same.

In terms of the online sessions, we all introduced ourselves, due dates, gender of babies and a little about ourselves. The instructor gave us info and posed us questions, split us off into 'zoom room groups' where we could chat more freely and get to know each other better as well as think about the questions asked etc.

Course was OK, but the social support side from other local couples has been infinitely better.

I hope it doesn't overrun, it doesn't start until 7.30pm and I'm already tired now! 🤣

@Stargazer87 maybe it was just our fruitloop instructor that meant ours over ran! But then there was follow up stuff over WhatsApp after sessions ended as well...

Get the snacks prepped!!

@Stargazer87 @Margo34 It's not just you - ours always overruns too, second the snack suggestion! You won't be the only one munching away on camera

What sort of things do people say in their intros? I always find having to introduce yourself on work courses etc strangely difficult! 🤣

@Stargazer87 "Hello, I'm Joanna Bloggs and I'm xx weeks pregnant, we're expecting a baby boy/girl/don't know! I'm WFH at the moment but usually I'm a giraffe feeder at the zoo. I'm paranoid about dropping the baby....and how to keep it alive....I know nothing about babies... "

Or something to that effect was pretty much what our entire group said.

And I started the convo on our WhatsApp group with a simple waving emoji 👋 and 'see you Tuesday!'

Ok doesn't sound too bad! 🤣What kind of follow-up do you do on Whatsapp?? Do they set you homework or something? 🙈

Our classes always overrun and we had to have them twice a week! Hope your instructor is nice and you have a great group!

@Stargazer87 they just send you more info and links and stuff and ask questions like what do you think you might do in xyz situation, then 1 person answers something stupid and the instructor gives the answer. We hardly contributed at all to that aspect tbh

So we had our first class tonight and it was awful! It overran by over half an hour yet didn't really seem to have any real content? 🤷🏻‍♀️I don't feel like we learnt anything and it was also difficult to get any real conversation flowing over Zoom. Seriously considering seeing if we can cancel them...

We felt the same as you after our first session but the main reason we did it was to meet local people going through the same thing at the sane/similar time rather than the course content.
If you've got a good group, the social side will come into its own later on!

Yeah maybe it's worth sticking with it, just felt a bit deflated by it last night and was shocked at just how awful it was! 🙈