FTM - NCT worth it?

[coopekid]

FTM due in August can’t decide whether to book NCT classes or not. Anyone have experience of whether they are really worth the expense or not? I would like to meet new Mums to be in my local area but at the moment am put off by the £260 cost that we have been quoted for courses at our branch. Also not sure if I am going to be up for doing twice weekly evening classes in June when I am 7/8 months pregnant! (Work full time as a SEN teacher that is already full on enough!) Any thoughts negative or positive gratefully received!

100% worth it for me! We made a mums whatsapp group which totally got me through that first year. We shared everything, immunisations, weaning, texting whilst feeding in the middle of the night. Still friends with a couple of the mums now (mine was a less local group which made regular meet ups difficult). I'm going to do it again for number 2

The classes themselves were informative but nothing you couldn’t find out with some careful reading.
The biggest boon for me was the fantastic group of families that we met and became friends with. We still see each other regularly 10 years on. Having a group of women (and men for my husband) going through the exact same experiences at the same time was invaluable support.
I know we were lucky and it doesn’t work out like that for everyone but I’d always say it’s worth a go. If you can afford it.
If it’s all on Zoom right now tho I’m not sure I’d bother....

Worth it to meet other mums for me especially as I didn’t know anyone with children in my area when I had my first baby

Worth it, even on zoom, for the information all in one place and the meeting local couples with similar due dates.

IME it's not worth it for the information you're given – all of which can be found easily online or via, for e.g., the positive birth company digital pack – but worth it for meting couples in your area in the same boat.

I’ve found plenty of mums in my area just by posting on a local Facebook group for free.

Worth it just to make parent friends.

I found the free NHS classes I had towards the end of pregnancy were just as good for making contact with other new mums. I couldn't justify the cost of the NCT classes just before having a baby.

Absolutely worth it for me as a FTM if affordable:

1 - all info in one place. Don't have to worry about missing something and guides you through what to do/think about.

2 - can ask "stupid" questions (and hear the answers to other questions you wouldn't have thought of).

3 - DH gets the info too. I have read loads but he'd done nothing. He's so much better prepared than he was.

4 - NHS classes cancelled due to COVID so no free option at the moment, at least where I live. It's all pre-recorded stuff.

5 - Meet people locally who are also there because they want to meet people.

They weren’t worth it for us. The information from the free nhs class was more useful, and our group just didn’t gel and didn’t make friends. I don’t think any of us ever met up more than once after the births.

I met loads of mums at baby groups, and breastfeeding support clubs.

I think it's worth it.

While, as a PP says, all the information they'll give you is readily available online (and for free!), the value of having a readymade group of soon to be parents due around the same time as you cannot be understated.

While my own group wasn't a local one, we still keep in touch on WhatsApp 16-18 months down the line (there's 7.5 weeks between our youngest and oldest babies). I also meet up with one of the group every few weeks. We'ld never have met if it hadn't been for NCT.

I found that the parents I met at baby groups (pre Covid) had a tendancy to talk amongst their own NCT groups. It'll be interesting to see what the dynamics will be like once baby+toddler groups reopen. The last time we all saw one another our babies were teeny tiny. Now they'll all be mad toddlers.