Fresh evidence to confirm the importance of antenatal education in the transition to parenthood has been published by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT).
The latest in a series of recent reports, the NCT’s
Preparing for birth and parenthood report on first-time mothers and fathers attending NCT antenatal courses, surveyed 928 expectant parents.
The new research found that while only 3% of women said they felt ‘confident’ about birth before attending an NCT antenatal course, afterwards 98% said they felt ‘confident’ or ‘fairly confident’. Similarly among fathers-to-be surveyed, just 1% said they felt ‘confident’ about birth before their course; afterward 97% felt ‘confident’ or ‘fairly confident’.
Some 80% of women and 87% of men questioned when their baby was three months old, said the information on breastfeeding provided on their course had been useful. Further statistics revealed that of those surveyed, 97% of women booked an NCT course in order to meet other parents, while 96% wanted to prepare for becoming a parent.
