I attended the National Childbirth Trust ante natal classes way back when I had my son Will – who is now 20 and I found them to be helpfuI. I also took the local ante natal classes recommended by my doctor.
I enjoyed and learnt from both.
Kirstie Allsopp is in the news today criticising the NCT and I’m discussing her opinion at 10 am on BBC Three Counties Radio
Kirstie whose two sons were both delivered by caesarean, suggested on Twitter that the NCT deliberately failed to offer enough information about the procedure in their antenatal classes, which are attended by more than 100,000 couples every year.
She wrote: ‘Turn to BBC Radio 4 for talk of a book about all the absurd myths surrounding pregnancy & birth. More NCT b******* as usual though. Lots of people have good NCT experiences, but many don’t. This is a very politicised, dogmatic and in my experience, scary organisation
I think that new mums are under so much pressure to have a natural birth and breastfeed that they forget that we are all doing our best and must make up our own mind about what’s best for us a family but that actually nature holds all the cards and sometimes we have absolutely no control over what happens during birth.
We all know that breastfeeding a baby is the natural and best way to feed a newborn baby if you can but I’m not a fan of telling any new mum what to do and real life often gets in the way of our plans !
It’s not about competing but supporting – getting together with other Mums and Dads is a great way to learn, make friends and enjoy this very special time in your life.
Read Kirstie Allsopp’s view of the NCT and tell me what you think.