Went to local Parentcraft class for the second time yesterday. Am new to this area, only transferred 3 weeks ago, so know literally nobody around here. Had been hoping to meet other Mums-to-be locally.
The first, last week, was as you'd expect, nobody really knew each other, everyone stuck with their partners, didn't really speak to anyone else.
Thought it would be different this week - smiled at people I recognised from the week before, only to be met with stoney faces! Nobody spoke, again, and the midwife holding the class made no attempt to engage anybody in conversation. There were no introductions, no group stuff to do, it was just a case of sitting and listening to her talk non-stop (which, frankly, got a bit tedious after an hour) with no chance to share any stories or discuss any worries. It even finished 50 minutes earlier than scheduled because she ran out of things to say. Nobody had the chance to say when they were due, and at the end everybody just went home without saying bye to each other!
I found it really, really sad. There's no NCT locally either, so this NHS class is literally all we have. What a wasted opportunity.
Was I expecting too much or have others had similar experiences?
I feel so disappointed - what a shame.