Nct - how important?

[pilsbury]

Sorry for the daft questions but I'm only 9 wkd gone and don't want to tell anyone yet so I have noone else to ask all my "obvious" questions to.....

Anyhoo, my question is about nct. A cursory glance at the nct site seems to say there are no courses in east dulwich for the time I'm due (25 oct), tho I'll call tmrw to d.check. The courses suggested are in London bridge and brxton/h hill. Isn't the best thing about nct courses that you get to meet local parents in the same situation so you can be friends and help each other out in the future? I don't really consider lb or Brixton to be that local, is it still worth doing the course?

Apologies if I'm asking a stupid question, just interested to hear how valuable people find the courses abc groups.

Thanks all!

[crystal7]

I didn't do NCT classes for that reason (and the cost!). I met some fantastic people due about the same time as me through this forum- answered a post asking for pregnant friends. 15 months on we still see each other. I also did the NHS antenatal classes which were fairly useful and informative and I still see a few people I met from them.

Having said that I have friends who did the Herne Hill NCT sessions and thought they were fab.

Good luck with your pregnancy!

[snowboarder]

umm...see here

[ClareC]

Hiya, I did the ED NCT Classes. Would definitely recommend them, the content was really useful plus made friends with other mums - we are all on maternity leave and meet up weekly. I joined mainly for the social aspect however was really glad I did the classes from a content point of view once I went along! Tess the local ED teacher is lovely.

Not sure why no classes came up locally, seems odd as there is a teacher in ED and Nunhead!

[pilsbury]

Thx for the v quick responses, really impressive! Sorry i'd missed that other thread snowboarder, answered all my questions really, doh! Will give them a buzz tmrw...

[jollybaby]

The website isn't helpful with the dates for ED classes. I'd suggest emailing alison the booking coordinator directly

[hpsaucey]

Hello there. I think the NCT also offer reduced fees for those who cannot afford the full course cost.

[Sanne Panne]

pilsbury Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Thx for the v quick responses, really impressive!

> Sorry i'd missed that other thread snowboarder,

> answered all my questions really, doh! Will give

> them a buzz tmrw...

Great. It's not just the contacts (although they are great). The content of the classes also helped a lot, not only me but also my husband - and partners are less likely to read as much as you if you were otherwise planning on getting your information from books. We ended up with an unplanned homebirth and my husband says he would have been completely freaked out if he hadn't understood the stages of labour so well thanks to the classes (midwives only showed up when I was already pushing). Books are just books anyway - the classes are very down to earth and somehow it all sinks in better when you talk about it with real people than when you read it on the bus to work. Go for it if you can!

Sillywoman - my husband still says that the (seemingly silly) card allocation game where the "if you feel the urge to push" card should NOT be moved to the "go to hospital" section helped him decide to put some old sheets on the floor rather than call a cab or ambulance when the time came and the midwives were still not there. It may seem obvious but when you or your partner is in labour you don't reason like you normally do and things you learned in a class can come in very handy at such a time (tu)

[Keef]

We are members, but never did classes, and haven't ever wished we had.

[sillywoman]

Ah Keef, you don't know what you've missed!;-)

Edited to say; & I'm not really scary - I would've looked after you well. Promise!

[Keef]

Not saying anything negative about them, just decided they weren't for us. Thought NHS classes at Tommy's were great for us. Plus, whilst we could have afforded it, we felt a bit like people were priced out, and that made Mrs Keef less inclined to give them our money. Just a personal thing.

[nylonmeals]

I think NCT is great for partners to really get to grips with what's about to happen. It certainly prepared mine (as much as any course can!) We did the one that is weekly over 8 weeks and it gave us a chance to build up some really good friendships before our baby arrived.

[pilsbury]

I left Alison a message this lunchtime

e but will try her again tmrw and email too just in case, thx for the further advice everyone :)

[millsa]

Our course in ED was great, but I reckon we all did it to make new mums friends rather than learn about labour :) All babies come out in the end, one way or another, but the friendships you make through NCT will last for ages, so go for it if you still can.

[Smiler]

Hiya, more so than the social side, we found the practical information about giving birth and opportunities to discuss things over a period of time with the same teacher and group really useful.

When it came to the birth, we were much better informed than we otherwise would have been, which I really believe affected how things went in a positive way.

As a result of the classes, we had knowledge and confidence to handle some unexpected and scary things (e.g. thick meconium in my waters when they broke at home); to challenge the consultant's advice to take synotocin to "speed things along" and insist on a scan of the baby's position, at which point they (belatedly) discovered the baby was breech; and also knew what to expect in an emergency C-section (we had done a role-play in the class), which made the whole thing less scary.

Also, the options for NHS ante-natal classes in East Dulwich don't seem to be great. I was offered a one-off ante-natal workshop of 4 hours, which when heavily pregnant didn't appeal, and wouldn't have provided opportunities to get to know people. There were some other options, e.g. evenings for a few weeks, but they said that there was high demand, so they were mainly doing one-off workshops. Maybe this has now changed: hope so.

[ryanj]

Hi we did NCT and we had bad experience with the teacher we found she couldnt deal with people who wernt from a standard hetro/married relationship

some of the advice given was in my opinion way off....

and as a faciltator/provider of info i really didnt think much

however i really loved belonging to the NCt and the coffee groups we joined afterwards

hope that helps

[sillywoman]

OMG, really hoping It wasn't my classes that you had such a bad experience of. Have PM'd you to check & offer to follow up on your feedback if it was me. :(

[MrsMc]

Really hope you managed to get on a local course. I left registering late (12 weeks) as I was superstitious about counting eggs etc but by a stroke of luck got a place on Tess' course in ED - we had a brilliant experience and got on v well with the other couples. Because I was so late there was no space avail initially in ED but I told Alison what I ideally wanted and she came back to me a few weeks later to say a space had come up - so worth stating a preference if you can't get first choice. would def recommend Tess' 8 week course if there are spaces - allows bonding time with other couples and Tess is a really lovely teacher!

[sillywoman]

Phew! Wasn't me.

Thanks for your kind reply ryanj. I do think you should consider following it up through NCT Head Office as we're quite strictly trained. I know it's a pain but if experiences like yours go unchecked then it impacts on people's view of the NCT as a professional whole. Inclusiveness & accurate & up to date information that can be backed up by research where possible are two of the cornerstones of our practice. Clearly this isn't what you experienced so maybe one of our teachers needs some help or extra study days, or temporary supervision or something?

[Lousylu]

They are a middle-class parents dating service - and work very well as such. But you can get the content elsewhere and I already had lots of friends who had kids and had been a nanny myself so didn't find much use in that - plus depending on the teacher it is all a bit over-blown and precious. But if you are new to an area and feel you need "parent" friends then they will be worth the not-inconsiderable expense.

[Keef]

They are a middle-class parents dating service

Ha ha, I like that. I pretty much agree with your whole post too.

[sillywoman]

Ouch!

[snowboarder]

Yes - I was going to respond to LousyLu/Keef but got distracted yesterday - I do think that your comments are unfair - The content - well I don't think the NHS do an 8 wk course (could be wrong) and would have to schlep up to Kings rather than do in ED. I also have friends with and have had experience of looking after babies/children, but that in no way prepared me for motherhood and the support network provided by people going through exactly the same as you at the same time I found invaluable - lucky you that you had such a supportive network already!!

I also don't really think it was that expensive for what it was - when I consider what you can pay for other things - ?200 or thereabouts, for 2 people for 8 sessions - so ?12.50 each for an hour and a half - gym sessions can cost this!

Anyway - whatever - each to their own. But I thought it was great personally, and whatever happens in the future re the people I met at NCT classes, the classes/teacher and friends pretty much saved me from going crazy over this first year!!

[Belle]

yep i must say when people say they can get the info elsewhere I'm amazed - I thought I'd read up loads but actually i learned a lot in my course, and that was even with missing the last two classes thanks to my son making an early appearance. I also think there's somethign to be said for the mental preparation (as much as you can prepare that is!) that the course gives you. My teacher was full of little tips and answered all our questions (silly and serious) - can't think where else I'd have got that. For me the dating service side of it was the one bit that didn't work out yet I'd still recommend it.

[Keef]

Oh come on people, Lousylu wasn't exactly being offensive, I thought the post was quite funny (maybe a bit cheeky), and quite an honest response, which highlights what a lot of people think!

There seems to be a real problem in The Family Room, whereby if someone disagrees with the majority, it's not accepted.

You found the NCT classes great. That is great.

Other people find it all a bit twee and middle class / exclusive / over priced / nothing special, they are just as entitled to those opinions. No one has said the NCT is bad / rubbish, so no need to get so defensive.