NHS 0 NCT 0

Ten days on and still no joy getting onto an NHS ante-natal class of any kind. Worse still the NCT classes are also oversubscribed. The nearest we could get onto at the moment is in Buxton which is completely impractical. However, we have a few NCT area co-ordinators looking for a space for us. We are top of the waiting list for a course in Crumpsall at the moment. Again, hardly an ideal location but we are starting to get desperate.

We've been told now by several people that the midwife is obliged to ensure that we get the encessary ante-natal instruction, but at the moment her re-assurances have extended only to "if all else fails I will come round and answer any questions we may have"!

"Any questions we may have"!!! If she were expecting to get mountain biking lessons from me I wouldn't deem it sufficient to just "answer any questions" before rolling her off the top of a hill. As complete newcomers to childbirth we don't even know half the questions to ask, that's why the NHS have classes in the first place. And given that the NHS doesn't throw away money on luxuries it would tend to imply that as responsible parents we should attend these classes. So I am still left bewildered and annoyed at the position we find ourselves in.