Antenatal classes?

[rosear]

Hiya,

I am researching antenatal classes, I didn't know that you had to pay for those! It's my first baby, and everybody says you should sign up for one. Any advice on which one to join? I was checking Happy Parents, Happy Baby and also Bump and Baby? Any advice at all would be great! Thanks :)

You should be able to get them on the NHS, ask your midwife for the details :) but I’ve also looked at happy parents, happy baby and were hoping to do these in march, so would also be interested to hear feedback!

I never did one. I did look on YouTube at free resources and look at articles on the internet if I wanted to know something more specific, otherwise I am of the opinion that no one can truly prepare you for it. If you want to do it for the social side of things people always bang on about NCT. Sorry for being negative about antenatal classes, I just don’t see the point in them personally. There will be people who swear by them though. In other words, you do not have to do one.

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-health-services/antenatal-classes/

You can follow that link to find classes in your area, there should be some free ones listed.

In my area we have Positive Birth Movement, but I've chosen to pay to attend the NCT one with my partner, more for his benefit than mine as he wants to be hands-on when baby is here, and I've heard good things about the care for baby/feeding/support elements of the course they offer. He likes the idea of being given up to date advice over a series of sessions, especially about things like safe sleep!

We found antenatal classes really useful. While we could find the information online, the classes gave us dedicated space to actually think about it. It also got us to think about what we wanted outside the course and make plans accordingly.

We did NCT as I felt they offered the best course. HPHB were no straight away as all our local ones are in pubs / bars. Not an environment I wanted to be in and I felt would set the tone for the group. Also I saw they could have about 15 couples which was overwhelming for me.

I did Happy parents, happy baby. The information you get in the course can easily be looked up online via free resiurces / read about. Eg Lullaby Trust for safe sleeping. I quite enjoyed the social element and we have a WhatsApp group where we texted quite a lot after the course finished, and we still organise meet ups. That obviously also depends how well everyone gets on, but people in my course were really friendly.

We did NCT and it was brilliant. Gave me the info and confidence to make a birth plan that suited me and I had a great birth experience. Made loads of friends through it and we still meet up 2 years on. I’m now pregnant again and some of the others from my class are too, so we’ll be on maternity leave together again.
Having a close group with 8 other couples you could ask ‘is this normal?’ And ‘how do I…?’ Was especially valuable during the first year, when things change so quickly week to week and people often forget what it was like after they’re on to the next stage (I have!).

You are buying some friends.
I’d say it was money well spent.

dont do NCT. I did it as I hesitated and bump&me was full…
the content was dire

check what’s available a lot of them fill up EARLY

I did happy parents happy baby and was pleased I decided to do it. Have a group of mum friends now who all meet up regularly with our babies and a useful WhatsApp where we can ask each other advice etc. the actual classes were run by a midwife and were pretty good especially on birth, your options and what to expect. But like lots of PP the social stuff has been most valuable

My dc are older so it was different then but I did the free nhs classes with dc1 and I am still friends with 3 of the other mums and the dc are 18 now.

We did happy parents happy baby - yes it was in a pub (in a private room) but it didn’t set the tone of the group (not even sure what that PP means?!). I had done hypnobirthing before so a little was repetition but overall we found all the classes really useful, and the online stuff with obstetricians and midwives were also good. We use the WhatsApp with the other parents still and have all kept in touch and arranged days out/coffees already which has been nice. I’d say if you’re planning a caesarean it’s probably slightly less helpful when it comes to the birth chat, it mainly focuses on vaginal birth (but I think NCT and others do too). You have access to all the course material for 6 months from when it finishes too, and we’ve referred back to it for things that we want to remind ourselves of (first aid, breast feeding positions etc).

I just did the free nhs ones and didn’t find them that helpful. I do think the majority of it is paying in the hope you make friends. Which I guess you are in the same boat so the chances are good that you will stay in touch and meet up on mat leave. I have a friend who did nct mostly to make friends, and she has.

I made friends with a great group in a baby group. It’s not as certain with baby groups but somehow we made friends and now have that meet up every so often and talk on WhatsApp. Three of the four of us are pregnant with our second at the same time too.

Most are NCT locally. We missed out as our DC born very prem. I honestly think it made no difference as hospital show you what you need to know before you leave when you have a NICU/SCBU baby and I felt I knew more than done who attended classes

How many weeks are you? The nhs offer some from 30 weeks but won't offer you a place on one before that. I got my letter through last week at 31 weeks inviting me to a local free 6 week antenatal class in the local community hub. It starts this week when I'll be 32+4. Ask your midwife if you'll be offered one!

The courses are useful for making friends but pretty useless on content. I’ve done two through NCT and Bump & Baby - it focuses 90% on labour etc (which is kind of useful, but realistically you don’t choose your birth no matter how carefully you plan it) and then 10% on postnatal care. And really the postnatal stuff is what is helpful. Also I had a very militant midwife running the B&B course who was clearly very anti intervention. This made a bunch of the group feel bad when they did end up induction, caesareans etc and is totally unnecessary. Most of us complained about her. So I would recommend for the social aspect, but don’t expect to learn basic stuff about looking after the baby from the course. And be prepared to have to ignore the “natural is best, you’ve failed if you need medical intervention / don’t breastfeed” messaging.

We did Bump and Baby because I'd read about NCT having certain views/pushing certain birthing methods over others and I wanted to get as neutral information as possible.

The content is nothing you can't get from reading online or listening to a good podcast (i recommend the BirthEd podcast, it is great!)

But what was really worth it is the friends and the mums WhatsApp group. I am 36 weeks now and I'd be feeling very lonely if it wasn't for those ladies - we check in on one another regularly and are all going to an NHS breast feeding class together tonight. That's what you're paying for - friends and support.

So if you can afford it (and appreciate that it most definitely is a luxury), then go for it. If you can't, then the podcast i mentioned above will cover more than the content covered in the classes!

@HopefulllHolly I realised after posting that might not make sense.

We don’t drink alcohol for various reasons and choose not to go to places that focus on alcohol. We felt that the courses being in a pub might mean the group would want to continue to meet in alcohol focused environments.

@Happymchappyface Ah that makes sense! Haven’t found that so far with my group but totally get your reasoning! 🙂

I did Bump and Baby Club and it was really good to just start getting into the mind frame that a baby is coming. It was also really nice to meet others who are having babies at the same time as you. Our course set up a WhatsApp group too so we could all stay in touch.

Exactly this, we did Bump and Baby but not really for the course content. Although some of it was useful, especially baby first aid.

But the biggest benefit was meeting a group of people going through the same thing at the same time. Everyone there was doing it for the first time.

I’m also pondering the same question. Our first baby is due in July and we wonder if the paid for classes are worth it. We’ve read mixed reviews on the likelihood of making friends - it’s completely hit and miss as to whether or not you bond with the group. I’d definitely like some support but I know I would feel really disappointed if we didn’t like the content/didn’t find support after spending £200+ on classes. What area are you based in OP? xx

I have ended up signing for a class that happens on our area... I am doing it mostly for the possible actual learning than the social part, they take place late in the day on Mondays and I bet Im going to be knackered after work! haha, in Hertfordshire but Im thinking about downloading that Peanut app too, to meet mums on the area maybe?
Have you thought about it?

Which class did you sign up for if you don’t mind me asking? We’re considering Bump and Baby as they run a session on alternative births and don’t just focus on vaginal births. We’re based in Cheshire. I downloaded the peanut app and have chatted to a few people in my area. I think it’s quite daunting trying to turn online chatting into physical support and meet ups.

I wanted to sign up for Bump and baby but it was already sold out, so the only one that is similar that I could find is Happy parents, happy baby. I liked that it has in person sessions and also online ones, and it includes a session about breastfeeding which I have been told is a must. I hope this helps! I may download the app too, but yeah... not sure how it will translate meeting in person.