NCT or Bump and Baby Club?

[Elsbeth1]

I've been looking at antenatal classes today (due date April 22) and I'm shocked to see they have nearly all been booked up! And also that you had to pay for the for some reason I thought they were NHS funded doh

There's one space left on my local NCT class £325 - 14 hours spread over one weekend and another 3 hours on the Saturday after
These are held in a poshish cinema

There's also only one space left at my local Bump and Baby club £250 - 10 hours spread over 5 weekly work nights 7.30-9.30pm
These are held in a poshish pub

They both also have a reunion day following the birth of the baby

Which one would you pick or has anyone had any experience with either?

I'm leaning towards the NCT one because I think I'd prefer the cinema to the smell of stale beer at the pub
Originally I wanted to do weeknight courses as I think this would provide more of an opportunity to bond over 5 weeks instead of 2 full on days..
However would the weekend one be better because everyone would probably be tired after work?

You will get lots of mixed views on here about NCT - personally our course leader was great. Really covered all birth options including c-sections, lots of info on pain relief, also talked about formula and bottles in addition to the special breastfeeding session. I found it to be very balanced. The whatsapp groups have been particularly great after the births (and at 3am!). However ours were spread over 3 weeknights and 1 weekend day on zoom (this was in spring 21) and i found it very intense - a lot to take in. So maybe think about how you learn / absorb new information eg at work and whether one suits your learning style better than others?

Are you sure there isn't an NHS one in your area? I had no idea until I mentioned it to my midwife about 29 weeks. Ours have only relatively recently (last couple of months) restarted after COVID. They're delivered on an evening over 4 weeks (5 if you tag the breast feeding course on the end). I think they maybe just don't mention it until further along. Might be worth double checking?

We paid that for NCT- my Lord six hours straight over two weekends in the Hilton on uncomfortable chairs and no refreshments ‘because covid’. I’m still hasty about it!

It VERY much depends on your course leader- I found ours really wishy washy and she swept over a lot of info that would have been bloody useful in hindsight- huge push towards natural births being the best way (and glossed over the other scenarios) and a very idealistic picture of breastfeeding. We had weird exercises to do that just felt like the time fillers they obviously were- think a load of pics of random babies in NICU scattered on the floor and we each had to choose two and explain why

Don’t get me started on ‘a letter from your unborn child’.

We met some nice people and the Whattsap chat has been very useful. We are all getting together tomorrow now all the babies are here.

But £325?! I don’t know what we were thinking.

*Still ANGRY not hasty!

Speak to your midwife about the free NHS ones.
Mine told me they're restarting face to face ones 'in the new year' but couldn't book me in yet & I'm due mid February so felt like I couldn't wait to see it that pans out.
We went with NCT, though it's quite a bit cheaper in our area it seems (£210) & it's going to be over 6 weeks, 1 evening a week.
We went back & forth about whether to do it for ages because it seems expensive & has really mixed reviews but we had the same realisation as you that several options were fully booked & felt we had to make a decision.
I'm hopeful we might make some friends & my husband might learn a bit about labour etc but I'm going into it without too many expectations and certainly am not interested in some of the strange activities I've seen mentioned.

I did NCT and it was really great but I would opt for the spread out option rather than an intense weekend.

We did NCT and I think it was one of our best baby investments. I don’t think I learnt much new at the classes really (although the course leader was quite helpful on types of pain relief available and on being assertive during labour etc). My husband found them useful. But the WhatsApp group and meeting others mothers going through the same stuff at the same time was worth every penny. The NHS antenatal classes were about information rather than creating a support network. But I wanted the support network - and reckon either NCT or the other option you’ve suggested would provide that. The one thing I would say is if you want the support network you have to be proactive - our group went for dinner, to the pub, out for lunch etc ahead of the babies being born.

Thanks for your help everyone

I booked the NCT one in a blind panic last night and today I can see that the Baby and Bump ones are all sold out too! What madness is this there's still 5 months to go until the due day!

I'll ask the hospital at my next appointment this Weds about the NHS ones but am I right to think these are held in the hospital and not locally?

@WheelieBinPrincess My lord letter to your unborn child? I hope we're not doing crap like that! On the other hand I'm excited about the possibility of free refreshments lol and yeah the idea of making mum friends

Our NHS ones are at the local community centre. We get free drinks and chocolate biscuits- possibly not as exciting as the NCT refreshments though! Xx

Local NHS ones aren't available in all areas for covid reasons. I'm due in less than 2 weeks and there have been no courses for me.

Local NCT ones are available, but for the cost of them I decided against it, I figured for the cost there was baby things I needed more.

I have never heard of bump and baby group. I did NCT and found it quite useful, particularly in the early days to have others going through a similar thing and being able to share and ask advice. However our group didn't exactly gell and we only met up in the first year following the babies being born, I'm not in touch with any of them now. I have other friends who have had totally different experiences though and go on yearly holidays with their groups and have met their best friends through nct. At the very least the weekly meetings are quite informative particularly if you feel a bit clueless!

I did NCT over 10 years ago. Found the info helpful but more importantly I met the most amazing bunch of people. All these years later we're still the best of friends. We meet up regularly as just mums or mums and kids or complete families. The kids are like cousins. Best money spent.

Is there any NHS provision at all? I didn't want NCT as I didn't want a load of natural birth stuff pushed at me, and didn't like the emphasis on socialising/making friends, which I knew DH would loathe.

I actually found it better to get a high quality book from the library (one that covers everything - you don't know what will happen so get informed about the choices you have and when they may not be available eg pain relief pros and cons, when a CS may be necessary). The one I had was by Prof Lesley Regan, so someone qualified and who wrote in a sensible, practical way.
I then supplemented this with an NHS free 2 hour class covering labour and birth which DH came to as well which answered our questions about the hospital we'd chosen. And a few more NHS ones including an excellent physical skills for pregnancy one with a physio that includes practical exercises for helping with back ache etc. There was a dreadful NHS breastfeeding one that was totally unbalanced and very anti-formula which I wish I hadn't bothered with.

Then, once my baby was here, I went to local toddler groups with her and made some lovely friends. It's fine to go with a tiny baby (she slept in the sling whilst I chatted) and they have baby areas for when they're a bit bigger. These were a fantastic source of friendship, help, advice as well as secondhand equipment and clothes! And cost about £2 a week.

And also, I've got a couple of friends who loved NCT, have stayed in touch for years with the friends they made there, one of them recently had a celebration as their 'babies' all turned 10!

But I've also had many more friends who didn't get on with the group they were with. Different backgrounds, opinions etc - bear in mind the only things you have in common are a due date in the same month and enough money to pay for the course! So it's very hit or miss. I had an occasional misgiving that I'd missed out on support by not doing NCT, then I met some of the women who would have been in my group if I'd done it... and, they were awful. Nasty, bitchy, bullies.

If you want to take the chance and can afford the money then it may be worth a try (can you look at reviews of local ones to see if they provide balanced info or are totally focussed on some things?) but do go into it with your eyes open and have a look around to see what else is available for meeting other new families.