‘Why I Went To Battle With NCT Classes’

It’s been almost a decade since my first NCT class and I’m still haunted by my experience of them. I attended many before the birth of my daughter Olivia, now nine-year’s old, and I distinctly remember being told that birth and breastfeeding were the most 'natural' things my body could do. I was told I’d ‘breathe my baby out’ (yes, really) and that she would instinctively crawl up to my chest and know how to breastfeed. It all sounded dreamy at the time, what could possibly go wrong?

In the classes any sort of birth interventions, and C-sections in particular, were presented as the worst thing ever, and it was implied that the sort of birth you had was within your control. Naturally, I felt a responsibility to get it right.

But a catalogue of errors made by medical teams meant that Olivia was deprived of oxygen and had to be resuscitated after being born by emergency C-section. As a result, she has long-term health problems including lack of muscle tone and hypermobility. Her birth left me deeply traumatised - there were times throughout it when I thought we’d both die. Breastfeeding was also extremely difficult at first. I felt an immense sense of failure that things had gone so differently to what I’d been told was the ‘right’ way in NCT classes.

It struck me after Olivia arrived that the classes only focused on birth and breastfeeding. There wasn’t a conversation around choice or how to advocate for your choices when birth takes a different pathway, what you might find difficult about birth and breastfeeding, and critically that it’s okay to have a different experience. Interventions and pain relief weren’t discussed in a balanced way, and there was no talk about your changing identity after becoming a parent or how your relationship with your partner would be impacted.

I started thinking about setting up a vastly different option for new parents, but it wasn’t until after my son Wills was born in 2017 that I made it happen. I had a peaceful planned C-section with him, but six weeks later I had a heart attack due to a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), which can be triggered by fluctuating hormone levels. The heart attack was another huge ordeal but this time it made me totally reassess my life and I was determined to make a difference to the experience of new parents. I left my busy job in advertising and set up Our Baby Club the following year.

We offer a modern antenatal revolution – zero bias, zero judgement, well-rounded evidence-based classes, which continue after the baby is born to offer new parents support when they really need it most. Mental health is key to us. We teach people how to look after their mental health and make it a priority, to tackle issues such as postnatal depression. There’s no greater transition than becoming a parent overnight so parental mental health is prioritised, rather than just the health of the baby.

I personally didn’t get anything from NCT classes, but a lot of people use them to make good local friends, which is important especially for new parents who don’t live near their families and support networks. But I do believe there should be more options out there for parents who don’t feel supported by their local NCT group.

Since setting up Our Baby Club, thousands of new parents have attended our award-winning classes across the UK and we have now trained more than 100 antenatal and postnatal teachers. For so long all people have had is NCT but now they are becoming more aware of other options and that they can choose something which matches their values. New parents deserve to have choices to help them during such a pivotal time in their lives.

For the NCT's response to Victoria's story, Tope Medupin, Director of Operations at NCT said:

'We were incredibly sorry and sad to hear that Victoria’s birth experience did not go to plan, and we would welcome a conversation with her to discuss her experience, even if this was some years ago.  We are always keen to hold space for parents, listen to their birth experiences and learn where we can improve on our course content and approach.

Every year we support around 250,000 expectant and new parents, as well as millions of parents and professionals who access our online and digital resources. NCT’s Antenatal courses also receive consistently high ratings for satisfaction; 95% of course attendees rate our courses good or excellent.

As a charity, NCT has evolved considerably since Victoria took her course. We understand the role we hold as the national charity supporting parents through a pivotal point in their lives, and place informed decision making as a core principle of our antenatal education. We empower women with an inclusive, evidence based, trauma-informed information that supports them to navigate the choices or pathways offered to them at various stages of pregnancy and birth.

We have a range of measures in place to quality assure our courses, including using parent feedback, and regularly assess our NCT Practitioners who all hold Perinatal Education and Practice qualifications from the University of Worcester.

We continuously iterate and update our antenatal and postnatal education to ensure that the content is inclusive, up to date, and covers a range of different birth options including caesarean birth and recovery, plus pain management options.

Over three million parents have taken an NCT course, and we’re constantly working to ensure every parent gets the information and support they need to make informed decisions and feel empowered to advocate for themselves. To learn more about NCT visit www.nct.org.uk'