Antenatal Classes

tuppance

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I was just wondering if any of you have been to the NCT antenatal classes and what you thought of them?

Mine start tomorrow and for some reason I am super nervous about them (I think it's because my OH's sister and my Mum really disliked their groups ... uh-oh!)

Also people who went to NHS antenatal, how late did you leave it to book? Now my OH wants to go to the NHS ones too ... grrr!

Hope your all well :)
 
im going to the NHS antenatal classes. i start on 14th april.. midwife only put my name down for them at 29 weeks which i thought was a bit late.

im really nervous about them. dont know what to expect
 
I started early...my first class was at 26 weeks and my last one if tomorrow (32 weeks). We both love them and think we've got really lucky with our leader and also the other people in our class...seems everyones gets on and we're all hoping to keep in touch.
I did hear some negative things about NCT before I went, especially to do with Pro-breastfeeding and pro natural no drug births....but our leader would question our opinions and make us think through these and ultimately leave the decision up to us..but it's nice to have all the options, side effects and benefits explained in a lot more detail that the quick NHS antenatel classes!!

Good luck and hope you enjoy! xx
 
I went to NCT and was very nervous beforehand but had a great experience. There were 8 couples and a real mix of people in terms of age (from 26 - 38) and background but no-one I didn't like!

I found the teacher very approachable and not too over the top or hippy-ish - Sorry if that seems rude, I was just very worried that teacher would be too full on about home birthing/breastfeeding etc but she wasn't at all, just very knowledgeable and happy to discuss whatever we wanted to. The whole experience has made me feel much more relaxed about labour and postnatal issues and I've met some really nice people that me and my husband will definitely stay in touch with.
 
Oops, forgot to say that I started the classes at 33 weeks. I had the option to go on a one off saturday afternoon NHS class but decided not to after looking over what was on the course. My midwife gave me info on the NHS classes at about 19 weeks and told me that I had to have booked a place by 25 weeks!
 
I'm glad you both enjoyed them! Also its really nice to hear that there was a mix of people that went to them (although I will probably be the youngest at 25, eek!)

It's great to hear that they discuss options instead of trying to force the pro-natural / BF approach; I'd heard so many horror stories about how they were really militant on those two things.

Thank you so much for the feedback, I feel alot less nervous now!
 
I think I'm going to be the youngest at 24, mine start tomorrow as well. :thumbup:

Have you been told to bring a pillow to yours? I had an email over the weekend telling me not to forget one and to wear lose comfortable clothing!
 
We were told to bring pillows and/or birth balls if we wanted, and when we got to the venue it was because the chairs there weren't very comfortable! In our class, the teacher got us to sit on the floor (pillow also useful here!) and took us through some relaxation exercises with our partners so thet may be why the comfortable clothing? I was in jeans and a t shirt though and was fine!
 
No need to be nervous as everyone is in the same position - its really funny how the OH ask really stupid questions!

We are doing 8 evening classes and sat morning bf clinic. Although they are good I think the information is very dragged out (and repeats the same stuff the following week with flip chart discussions) the timing for me isnt perfect 8pm - 10pm so I am always ready to go home as im falling asleep. I think a w/e classes would be better. We a in a tiny room (the nct teacher has complained 8 couples in 3 meter x 3 meter room and there is no where to move or chat - so the room is certainly not ideal! and the chairs are very uncomfortable)

I cant wait for them to finish (as its just too late once you get home) the bonus has been to meet some local people of similar ages as we meet in the restaurant / pub one hr before classes start and hopefully once our babies are born we will still all meet up. That has been the benefit really rather than learning all the information......

Hope you enjoy yours
 
We did an NCT antenatal class at 33 weeks over one weekend and an evening bf class - I thought it was really good and it was especially useful for my DH - however much I read, he wouldn't/ couldn't take it all in, but when we had a dedicated weekend to think and learn about birth, he suddenly understood why I'd made the decisions I had and the reasons behind it.

We are hoping to have a homebirth with minimal intervention which was discussed, but equally, she also mentioned all the forms of pain relief and assisted birth, discussing the pros and cons of each, allowing you to make up your own mind about what is best for you.

I found the class most useful for meeting a lovely group of like-minded ladies who'll have babies of a similar age and it's going to be really useful over the coming months - I can't recommend it highly enough. My mw totally swayed me away from the NHS courses, saying they were on weekdays, 10-12 and not really 'for people like us' - I know what she was implying and it was quite insulting to those who choose to go!
 
Sooz - We weren't told to bring a pillow, we just received really detailed directions of how to get to the place! I shall prepare myself for a numb bum!

Pretty please - I can't believe they went on till 10! You must have been completely shattered at the end of it. I almost fell over when I found ours finished at 9:30.

noileena - I'm looking forward to my OH actually learning about birth etc. I keep on reading about things and telling him about it, but it just goes in one ear and out the other; at least this way he will have to listen!

Once again, thanks for all the NCT reviews and Sooz good luck with tomorrow and I hope you have fun!
 
We go to NCT classes, we're the youngest there (23 & almost 25) but everyone is lovely and our leader is crazy (in a good way).

She has talked us through all the options for positions and pain relief in labour, and also talked through how they hook you up to machines etc and even made one of the OH wear bits of string to show us :haha: She also bought in her tens machine and birth pool and everything for us to have a go with it all :p

We also had a breastfeeding councillor in last week and I thought it would be all 'breast is best and nothing else' but she told us all we need to know about BF, FF or combi feeding and it was so useful! (she also called herself a tit-nazi lol)

We only have two sessions left and I'm actually gutted they're almost over!
 
I haven't been told anything about the NHS classes but have signed up for the NCT one which starts when I am 31 weeks. I'm looking forward to finding out stuff and more than anything hoping to meet some new people in the area. I dont know anyone where we live, friends and family are all quite far away so am bit nervous about giving up work to be at home on my own while DH is at work :( a friend went to the NCT course and made some good friends so hoping I can do the same.
 
i started at 26 weeks... definitely worth going.
 

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