NCT membership

Lillibet_2

Hi All

Thought I'd post my experiences for you.

I am 18 weeks pregnant & was assuming I would sign up to the NCT ante-natal calsses, however I nearly passed out at the cost (£180!!!!!!) plus the ones for my local area are held at someones house 15 miiles away! As a non-car owner no way can I consider this plus whats my £180 paying for if it isn't a local venue? My Mid-wife seems very keen on pushing me to sign up to the NCT ante-natal classes beacuse the strain on the NHS ones is too great in my area!
I have spoken to a few people who have used them, one (very hands on) Dad couldn't recommend them enough but also said he wouldn't have bothered if he could have attended the regular NHS ante-natal classes with his wife but his wife made a lot of good friends through the NCT, another friend went once & asked for her moeny back & thought it was down to luck whether the leader was any good as they receive hardly any formal training & they base their advice on their experiences! Everyone else is full of praise for them but they are all very pro-breast feeding & can't get to grips with the idea that I am not bothered if I can't.
I don't think it's for me.

s@sha

I'd have to agree with Lillibet on the class venue..I was a bit disappointed to discover I too wouldn't be able to get to my nearest venue without a car. I don't drive due to a disability. However, as I expect hubby to be coming along it won't pose too much of a problem, though it would be if he was unable to go at any time.

Also wonder why the fee seems to vary from place to place. I was quoted £136 (incl. membership). lillibet £180!

kidtechnical

Lillibet wrote:

Hi All

Thought I'd post my experiences for you.

I am 18 weeks pregnant & was assuming I would sign up to the NCT ante-natal calsses, however I nearly passed out at the cost (£180!!!!!!) plus the ones for my local area are held at someones house 15 miiles away! As a non-car owner no way can I consider this plus whats my £180 paying for if it isn't a local venue? My Mid-wife seems very keen on pushing me to sign up to the NCT ante-natal classes beacuse the strain on the NHS ones is too great in my area!
I have spoken to a few people who have used them, one (very hands on) Dad couldn't recommend them enough but also said he wouldn't have bothered if he could have attended the regular NHS ante-natal classes with his wife but his wife made a lot of good friends through the NCT, another friend went once & asked for her moeny back & thought it was down to luck whether the leader was any good as they receive hardly any formal training & they base their advice on their experiences! Everyone else is full of praise for them but they are all very pro-breast feeding & can't get to grips with the idea that I am not bothered if I can't.
I don't think it's for me.

I've never been on NCT classes, but from speaking to others who have I think that with NCT you're guaranteed a particular standard, the information they provide is research based, whereas I feel NHS classes may be slightly biased depending on the individual hospitals policys (which vary greatly from trust to trust). I've attended ante natal classes at 2 different maternity hospitals no more than 30 miles apart and they were completely different. One (a teaching hospital) was very vague & didn't go much into anything - I felt that this particular hospital liked their mums ignorant so they (midwives) could get on with the birth with minimum participation from the mum. They did dedicate an entire session to discussing postnatal depression. The other had a much more holistic approach and spent a lot of time chatting about the pro's and cons of pain relief and encouraged us to have a birth plan. Wether you find yourself in a good NHS class or not be depend on where you live. Have you asked the NCT near you if the price they quoted includes membership? They often automatically build the membership price into the cost to get new members (I think that a bit naughty actually). Also, if money's tight you could ask for a reduced rate (I know my local branch is open to negotiation, probably depends on how healthy their branch bank account looks at the time) and also ask them to take into account that you will incurr additional travelling expenses.

HTH

katglasgow

My son is now 15 months and I never joined the NCT. I live in Glasgow and there are plenty of support groups I can join and local activites FOC. When I was on maternity leave I had the best time of my life socially - often with activities on twice a day 5 days a week! I went to the hospital ante natal classes with my partner. There were 6 classes in total and we were able to go in the evening instead of daytime at our request. Personally, I found the content of the course to be just right and they covered everything I wanted/needed to know and we practised relaxtion/breathing as a couple almost every week. As well as this I also attending optional extra workshops as the hospital on infant resusitation and breast feeding. The midwives were a brilliant help to me getting me started with breastfeeding and I phoned their helpline several times in the first few weeks (really just confidence and getting started) I even went in for a one to one chat and chek up and a midwive sheck my positioning etc.. I also made great friends at the weekly support group and still meet up for catch up dinners with some of them now.

I'm not saying the NCT wouldnt be any good but you should check out what there is available anyway in your area, you may not need it?

Lillibet_2

I have signed up to the NHS ante-natal calsses which are run by the team of midwives I am registered with, I have met 2 of them & they seem very good. My husband will be able to come to these with me plus we have also signed up for the evening NHS "couples" classes at the local hospital which are taken by a different team of midwives so hopefully between the 2 options we will get a balanced view & all the usual bases covered. Maybe bacause I am not too keen to hear lots of stories or hear about every possible eventuality but just want to get a broad basic knowledge I am easy to please??!!

CDP

NCT teachers do have a long formal training most taking over 2 years and the training is validated by the University of Luton as a Diploma in Higher Education. Also all teachers are trained NOT to talk about their experiences and to use only research based evidence.
NCT is not negative towards bottle feeding mothers and aims to support all mothers. They do however promote breastfeeding which is slightly different.

NCT classes are small and this does allow people to get to know each other more than is perhaps possible in NHS classes.

On the subject of cost. This does vary from branch to branch but all branches offer subsidised places to people in receipt of means tested benefits.

HTH

Christine

jellyhead

you can join for a pound instead of thirty six if you're on benefits. i don't know about the classes though.

jo_b_2

carpool72 wrote:

Funny, I was just looking at the chequebook last night & thinking I should post about the offers - 1/2 are aimed at pregnant women & half people with babies. Off the top of my head there's 10% off places like Blooming Marvellous, ELC, money off Lansinoh breast pads, books, holidays and quite a few vouchers which I used already in Asda - well worth getting just for that. Your local branch should have a stock of chequebooks - I've got a box of 'goody bags' that I take to coffee mornings and events to give out to new people.

Carpool, it would be brilliant if you could post some of the discount codes from the NCT chequebook. I'm not really involved with the NCT to any great extent now that my son is getting older and I'm back at work.

The chequebooks that I have had from NCT in the past had some really good offers in. Just out of interest is the £5 for opening an Alliance + Leicester First Save account still running. This has been one of the best performing children's accounts (in terms of interest rates) and with the extra fiver it's even better!

I did attend NCT ante-natal classes (although that was three years ago.) I would recommend them, particularly if your partner can't make the NHS ones which is the reason that I went to NCT classes. I'm still in touch with the mums from my NCT class and I found their support really vital, especially through the first few months. Perhaps if you've already got a circle of friends who already have babies, this isn't such a necessity but I found the NCT a godsend.

Counting_Pennies_2

jo_b wrote:

Carpool, it would be brilliant if you could post some of the discount codes from the NCT chequebook. I'm not really involved with the NCT to any great extent now that my son is getting older and I'm back at work.

I just had a quick look at the cheque books I have and I have listed the main ones below, hope it helps. Couldn't find any for bank accounts though

Blooming Marvellous 10% off Valid until 31 July 2005 NCB5

JoJo Maman Bebe 10% off NCT42 Valid until 31 July 2005

Baby Einstein Buy 1 get 1 ½ price code: CURIOUS
https://www.disneydvdshop.co.uk/baby Valid until 31.3.05

ELC 10% off NC1 valid until 31.3.05

jo_b_2

Counting_Pennies wrote:

I just had a quick look at the cheque books I have and I have listed the main ones below, hope it helps. Couldn't find any for bank accounts though

Thanks a lot, Counting Pennies. Shame they aren't doing the A+L offer anymore.