Happy 60th Anniversary NCT

Today NCT is a charity for both women and men that aims to support parents through the First 1,000 Days of parenthood. It not only provides antenatal and postnatal courses but also information through its website and helpline, and practical support through its 300 local volunteer-led branches.

Some of NCT’s achievements include: 

• Helping parents to give birth confidently. NCT introduced the first antenatal classes in the UK in 1959. Last year, the charity’s courses helped prepare over 100,000 new parents for birth and parenthood.

• Bringing partners into the delivery room. Today it’s the norm for women to have their partner with them during labour but for previous generations the philosophy was that fathers had no place at the birth. It wasn’t until the mid-1970s that it became widely accepted largely thanks to NCT’s campaigning.

• Breastfeeding in public places. NCT had a strong influence on The Equality Act 2010, which gives women the right to breastfeed in public places without being discriminated against.

• Improving maternity services. NCT has been involved with national reviews of maternity services since the 1990s, represented users on the recent English and Scottish National Maternity Reviews and its volunteers work on multiple local committees.

• Working with socially disadvantaged groups. NCT has developed specialist support services for pregnant refugee and asylum seeking women and also runs antenatal sessions for women in prison.

• Raising awareness and improving services for perinatal mental health. Last year, NCT launched its #BeyondBabyBlues campaign, which called for improved mental health support for parents. In January, the Prime Minister announced an additional £290 million for mental health services for new and expectant mothers. NCT has recently launched a Department of Health funded peer support project⁴ and also campaigns to raise awareness of men’s perinatal mental health.

For more information call NCT on 0300 330 0770 or visit their website.