NCT in England

The NCT wants all parents to have a positive experience of pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. We want every parent with a new baby and every expectant parent to have access to NCT services, whether or not they’re members. We’re working hard to support more parents in England and to make our services accessible to parents from many different communities.

NCT members and branches

There are 274 NCT branches in England and over 40,000 members. The largest proportion of NCT members live in the southern parts of England, but numbers in the north are growing steadily.

Local NCT branches are all run by volunteers. Branches support families with antenatal classes, infant feeding support, discussion groups for new parents, drop-in groups, coffee mornings, and opportunities for new parents to meet socially. NCT Nearly New Sales, where branches sell used baby equipment, are our most popular events. There are 1,271 NCT trained breastfeeding counsellors, antenatal teachers, postnatal leaders, and students supporting parents in England.

Campaigning

In England, as in other parts of the UK, the NCT is campaigning for

• all parents to have a positive experience of birth,
• for breastfeeding to be a normal part of everyday life,
• and for all parents to have a positive start in family life.

We are active at both national level and in local communities. We facilitate the All Party Parliamentary Group on Maternity Services and contribute to national evidence-based guidelines and government policies.

We have developed the Better Birth Environment Toolkit and Modernising Maternity Care - A Commissioning Toolkit for England to support the work of NHS organisations and primary care trusts in improving their provision of services to meet the needs of women and men.

We also actively recruit and support parent representatives on Maternity Services Liaison Committees (MSLCs), Labour Ward forums, and other local campaigning committees. The NCT supports 154 user representatives in England with training, regular newsletters, and mutual support.

Achievements

One of the things that we’re most proud of is building relationships with other organisations working with parents. In Northern England we have employed four community development workers to help make NCT services more accessible and to develop joint working relationships with organisations such as Sure Start, Children’s Centres, Children’s Trusts, and local government. We hope that by working in partnership, we will be able to reach more parents and to provide services that address the needs of parents in diverse communities.

NCT branches throughout England offer expectant families and new parents social activities, support, information, and a chance to volunteer, train and develop. We’re also campaigning for better birth services and better environments for women giving birth. We hope you will join us.