Nct - do you recommemd ? Are u signed up?

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Currently nearly 16w

Keen to do nct

Not signed up yet tho

I did NCT with my first child.

The information is fine but it is a bit pot luck - ours was quite general. But it isn’t really anything you can’t find out yourself, so I wouldn’t let that be the deciding factor.

NCT is very much about finding your tribe if you like. You’ll get a lot of responses here telling you not to bother and just to go to baby groups but to be honest I never found baby groups went beyond the social niceties whereas NCT is a bit more forced!

However, it isn’t guaranteed and it just depends on the group you get. You could really gel with them or you could not and no one can say which way it will go! I’m still in regular touch with mine for now; the children all started school this September. It can get a bit competitive and cliquey but then show me a friendship group which doesn’t sometimes.

agree with the above.
im 50/50
mine was invaluable that first year on mat leave- fizzled out a bit now though.
I would say- if you’re doing it, pick the class that’s as close to you as possible, we did one in the next town over and it did mean that some people who live in that town were able to meet much more regularly, especially in those early days, those of us that were further away missed a bit of stuff simply due to distance x

Doing NCT right now and I'm a bit disappointed with the quality of the teaching. I booked it because I'd heard from so many people that it's a vital way to make parent/mum friends. The other couples are nice and live locally. Chatting with them is much more valuable than the information in the classes. Time will tell if we meet up afterwards and stay in touch - hopefully though!

Unfortunately, the teachers just don't seem that passionate and don't have great delivery. One is a bit uncertain and under confident, the other is too experienced and just barrels through all the information. I've watched much better antenatal classes on YouTube! You can get the information elsewhere.

If you can afford NCT, give it a go. You might have a great teacher and make some good connections. I don't suggest you hype it up too much though because it seems like it's very hit and miss. If money is tight, consider where else you can make connections with other parents and take advantage of your local NHS courses instead.

On balance I would say do it. The info is quite useful but it was mainly the friendships that were by far the most valuable.

Our DCs are now 18. 2 moved overseas, 2 elsewhere in the UK and 2 of us still live nearby and are close friends. The rest of us are still in touch on whatapp and had a reunion with all the DCs at Christmas.

Particularly valuable were those early days. 4 of us lived within walking distance (part of the reason we became so close - brilliant if that happens) . No one who doesn’t have a new born will want to discuss the things you need to endlessly discuss. It was a life line.

I didn’t feel close to anyone on the course. We had nothing in common really apart from living close by so don’t expect instant friendships. It was only once we met up after having the babies on a regular basis that the friendships happened. I’ll be forever grateful to my NCT friends.

That said I have friends who didn’t keep in touch at all once the course was over. It really does seem to be pot luck.
I do think living close by to each other really helps even if you aren’t the kind of people who you would naturally be friends with . We saw each other practically every day in that first year.

We would recommend. Great for forming a support group and we found the teacher really good. I have heard mixed things about the teachers and was prepared for someone a bit more evangelical, but she was wonderfully open and honest.

It’s worth giving it a go. I really wanted to make connections from mine as my mum still has friends from way back when she went while pregnant.
It does depend on what group you get, my group were nice enough but younger and more affluent than us and we didn’t really fit in. All the husbands loved football where mine isn’t bothered, we just didn’t gel. Stayed in touch for a short while but I think they carried on without me. I made far more friends at baby groups and at the school gates.

We've signed up. Similar to others I'm keen to make friends as we only moved here in December and don't know many people. My friends who did it said it was good and are still in touch with their groups. I guess it depends though!

The classes themselves are meh and nothing you can't learn from reading a baby book but the support network you'll gain will be invaluable in the early days. My daughter is two now and we still meet one of the couples every week at a toddler group.

The main value is finding friends to hang out with and text endlessly in the wee hours (though dads seemed to learn a lot in the classes, most of the mums had already sussed what they needed to know)! I do think it was good for making you think about the things you hadn’t thought to research though.

Two years on from giving birth, I see or hear from an NCT friend at least once or twice a week, so I consider it worth the investment. I’d recommend taking charge of the WhatsApp group early on so you can be sure it doesn’t fizzle out! We set up one for the mums and one for the dads.

I remember thinking multiple times after having my baby that such key things weren’t taught to us in NCT and what did I actually get from it.
I did meet other mums, but honestly all my friends local to me had kids already and three of my best friends from school were on MAT leave too with me so I was lucky and didn’t really tap in to the social aspect of it either. Depends what exactly you want from it.

Thanks all , .much appreciated

I wouldn’t recommend it if you are poor. I was definitely the least well off there and I was almost immediately excluded from meet ups. I’d done it to make mum friends and it really hurt. Met a couple mums at the nhs anti natal classes who had had similar experiences.