If you're expecting a baby, we'd like to invite you to join one of our courses of antenatal classes.

Held throughout the year, the course provides parents with the confidence and information they need in preparing for childbirth.

Teaching is informal, with plenty of discussion, sharing of ideas, anxieties and experiences. You'll find practical solutions to your pregnancy, delivery and parenting problems and be able to share the joys of it all with a new group of friends.

• What to expect during your labour and delivery, enabling you to make informed choices
• Techniques for managing labour pain
• Relaxation, breathing awareness and massage
• Communicating your views
• Breastfeeding
• Life with a new baby

The course generally runs for a number of sessions held on any combination of weekdays, weekends and/or evenings. The course includes a baby morning or afternoon led by our Postnatal Co-ordinator, a reunion after the birth of your baby, and access to a wide range of pregnancy and birth leaflets and books.

Attendance at a complete set of NCT antenatal classes is important as courses are designed to cover all aspects of preparation for birth.

We have fully trained antenatal teachers running the courses. They liaise regularly with the health professionals, and provide a course which complements the information you receive from your GP or midwife.

For more information you can email our Parent Services Bookings Administrator or phone her on 0844 243 6081. (Please ring at considerate times.)  Or you can follow this link to the national NCT website and choose the option to search for antenatal classes in your area.

Our Parent Services Bookings Administrator will advise on all aspects & details of our courses and costs. Discounts are available for low income families.

Our teachers and breastfeeding counsellors undergo a thorough training with the NCT although they are not required to be medically qualified. All teachers and counsellors are expected to keep up to date with the latest developments in maternity care and must register with us every year.

Their role is to offer support, information, practical skills and resources to help parents make informed choices for themselves and their babies. They do not offer medical advice, and parents are asked to take any questions about the medical care of mother and baby to their midwife, health visitor or doctor.