NCT membership

16011996

had another look at this, there are some interesting things on it, thanks counting for making me have another look.

Angelolly

I can't sing the praises of the NCT loudly enough - they have been a real support network for me since having my son.
The membership fee is essentially a donation to the charity. The first year is £36 and susequent years are £26. If you are on benefits then the fee is reduced to £1.

The NCT does a huge amount of campaigning work. They are committed to promoting breastfeeding and supporting women who choose to do it. They have done countless things to ensure the welfare and well-being of women and their babies.

Counting_Pennies_2

Sorry Jo_b didn't mean to sound harsh, just concerned that everyone will try to use the free services and not contribute to the charity, so thought I'd mention it in case people who have a little more money than others will sign up if they are thinking of it.

KK

I would highly recommend the NCT. I joined and did the classes, 'cos several friends of mine had and found an instant group of friends having babies at the same time. The classes were brilliant and really included the men (which the NHS ones didn't). I only took out membership for one year, but have continued to join in some of their activities and even ran a drop in playgroup for a couple of years which donated 50% of it's takings to the NCT. For me, who lived in Surrey and worked in London and knew no one who was having a baby it was an instant social life. I am still good friends with all my NCT group (apart from one who emigrated) and the children are all very familiar with each other.

I found the early days events like Bumps and Babes, the social events, quiz nights, etc a real life saver for me, as I was at home on my own with a new baby and no car. I have a whole new group of friends (including the partners too) and it introduced me to a whole new world. I think I would have been very lonely otherwise. Our children are about to go to school but we still get together, perhaps not so regularly, but the whole thing has been brilliant. Even if you don't bond with your own class (normally about 6 couples) you will meet other members. I also used the breastfeeding counsellor and gainend a lot of support generally from mixing with other new mums and not so new mums. I think you can do the classes without joining (I did at first) but it is a charity so if you do want to contribute it is for a very good cause.

telly-addict

It can be worth joining the NCT for the ante-natal classes but your experience of it is dependent on the type of 'teacher' you get.

Mine was very 'natural birth' oriented, anti-hospitals, no intervention (ventouse, caesarian etc) and very opinionated, anti-vaccination (!), only breast feeding etc. I found out after the event that other teachers were far more balanced. I don't think she was actually following NCT guidelines.

I would find out from people who have already been to the classes what they thought of them.

Get a balance by going to the classes run by your local midwives - they are a lot more in touch than someone that may have given birth years ago. And it's free!

The NCT bumps and babies groups are worthwhile as a good network but again my local midwives arranged post-natal groups too.

From recollection membership is £1 for those on low incomes.

Peadar_2

My wife and I went to the classes which were well worth the money. We live in rural Lincolnshire and groups are a bit thin on the ground. Some my wife went to were not as welcoming as they might have been. Do look out for the sales they run, hardly used toys etc and much cheaper than the shops.

The biggest benefit of the classes is that you form a network of friends who can help you out and generally stay in contact (our lad is 3 1/2 now and number 2 due in 6 weeks). We regularly have contact with 4 of the other 5 couples who attended the classes. None joined the NCT itself (so longterm money saving!!!!!!)

Yoga_Girl

I went to NCT classes and found them excellent, they also give you an opportunity to build up a support network.

I also contacted our local NCT breast-feeding counsellor after the birth of my 1st child when feeding went through a difficult patch and she was superb, very supportive and helped me & baby get back on track with breast-feeding.

I would definately recommend the NCT.

jo_b_2

Talking of the NCT....Does anyone have the latest NCT chequebook? Are there any offers/codes in it that are worth sharing with the rest of us?

jellyhead

thought i'd bump this up as there are a lot of us expecting at the moment :-)

i sent off my membership last week, haven't had anything from them yet, i ticked the box for a free NCT book, don't know what that's about though. it's £36 per year or £1 if you're on benefits (with a space to fill in any extra donation you'd like to make), they can claim the tax back through giftaid too.

i didn't realise you could get into the sales 15 minutes earlier if you're a member, hope my membership comes through for the sale in a fortnight :-)

Counting_Pennies_2

jellyhead wrote:

thought i'd bump this up as there are a lot of us expecting at the moment :-)

i sent off my membership last week, haven't had anything from them yet, i ticked the box for a free NCT book, don't know what that's about though. it's £36 per year or £1 if you're on benefits (with a space to fill in any extra donation you'd like to make), they can claim the tax back through giftaid too.

i didn't realise you could get into the sales 15 minutes earlier if you're a member, hope my membership comes through for the sale in a fortnight :-)

Jellyhead, you might want to call headoffice and ask them to speed it up for you. If they can't do it for you, being a charity sometimes their processes take a few weeks, you can ask them to call the organiser of the sale and ask them to allow you to be given entry 15 minutes before hand. Especially good if you are still a bump as the 15 minutes preview is a lot less crowded!

From memory the NCT book is an extra helpful booklet on parenthood.