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We did NCT mainly for the friendship group. The course content is alright, not really anything you can’t find online or in a book but the instant group of local people at the same stage of pregnancy was invaluable (to me anyway). Our babies were all born within two weeks of each other, so having a group going through pretty much all the same stuff at the same time was really good. I’ve got plenty of friends with kids, but it really is different having someone at the same stage. Five years on and the WhatsApp group is still going strong and we still meet up (with kids and without). I know some people don’t get as good an experience, but I’m so happy we did the course.
I second the above! The course content is okay but the support I got from the other mums is priceless. My baby’s 11 weeks old now and we’ve done days out, coffee meet ups etc.
We did NCT mainly to meet other families and see if we could have a friendship group . And we found it really beneficial for that. There is 7 other families and we’re all on a WhatsApp group as well as separate men/women chats. We meet most week for play dates and bbq / zoo trips, birthday parties etc so can highly recommend.
@Nikki-Lee second this. We are such good friends now, we holiday together, we see eachother with and without kids. Its the best money we paid for the friendships we now all have
NCT and similar (we did happy parents, happy baby) are about the friendships, not the content. Totally worth it!
We did it for the friendship, so glad we did. Baby is now 6 months old and I see 3-4 of the other mums and babies 1-2 times a week at various classes and groups. We also have met up whole course again a couple of times and that was nice
I’d suggest happy parents happy baby! Much more fun and much more informative from midwives, drs, lactation consultants, physios, a first aid session etc! It’s actually run by a midwife as well which NCT isn’t! And also cheaper too! Also get a fun reunion after!
@Emy Have you done both? I feel like it depends which nct course leader you have... Ours was an ex midwife with 40 years experience. It was really fun and we had a great time. And the reunion session is included with NCT too.
@Charley Ive volunteered to help at loads of NCT events and all my pregnant friends have done one or the other and it seems happy parents happy baby everyone was so happy with! Helps it’s cheaper and usually in a really nice setting and has a dedicated social session one week! But You get so much from it with all the specialists they bring in each week and you can get lucky with NCT and get a midwife but they don’t specifically pick them! I think really depends who you get for NCT as well, I think it’s overpriced for what they offer in comparison but ive had feedback where it feels kind of outdated/judgy? Which probably comes from the person teaching it as well tbf! But we mostly wanted the social aspect but deffo wanted HPHB as it knew we’d get so much more content too, especially the first aid will be helpful so we don’t have to book it separately!
I have done them for free