I hadn't realised they were 2 different things, and i DEFINITELY hadn't realised you had to pay for NCT ones. Is ther a big difference, or does it depend where you are and what's on offer? How do you know whether to pay or not? What have other people done?
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Hope that helps
Kerry
I can't recommend highly enough the NCT ones - even though you do have to pay for them (though few people realise that if you can't afford them you can approach the NCT and they can offer a very reduced rate or even free as they don't think anyone should miss out).
Now my LO is nearly 5 months old I can look back and reflect - the course was fantastic for opening conversations with OH as it covered a lot of things he'd never considered about raising the baby, how to deal with the first few weeks etc etc. It was quite useful for the labour stuff (more so for the relaxation) but as each labour is different it's difficult to cover every eventuality.
The breastfeeding part was really useful when the time came for me to try.
We discussed all pain relief options and even had a dummy run of a c-sec so we'd know what was happening and who all the people in the room are (handy for me in the end).
The one lasting thing it gave me is the one thing i would have paid double for - out of the 8 other couples in my group, with the exception of 1 woman, all of us get together at least once a week. The friendship and support that doing these kind of classes provides is amazing - ok, some of the Mums I might not have been friends with if we didn't have our babies at the same time, but you will know people whose babies are a few weeks older than yours and can help when things get tough, reassure you what's normal and what's not, how to overcome problems... and for those with babies younger, well you can share your new found advice and also see how far you have come with your own baby...
We have combined our talents and call in favours as and when we need them (in our group we have a hairdresser, photographer, etc, so we trade our talents - I get a free haircut for photographing her baby!)
I've got other Mums to do things with - playgroup, breastfeeding groups, slimming groups, swimming groups....
My sister is pregnant ( and luking in the background of these boards somewhere reading this no doubt) and I have said to her that no matter what take the NCT classes.....
The NHS ones, you can still go to if you wish, you can still have the hospital tour (etc) but ours were so oversubscribed, not only could you not get to know anyone else, they were so big they couldn't run through anything useful or answer and individual questions!
Have fun, whatever you decide.
xx
My husband loved them as well because they made him realise how important his role was as well instead of just focusing on the woman - and thank god because I forgot EVERYTHING we had been taught when I was in labour and he was fantastic.