Supporting parents beyond birth: NCT’s commitment to postnatal support

We know how important it is for new parents to feel supported in the early days and weeks after birth. Yet too many parents experience what’s known as the ‘postnatal drop-off’ - where support falls away after discharge from NHS maternity services. Postnatal care in the UK remains dangerously fragmented between acute services, community midwifery, health visiting and primary care, and often difficult for parents to navigate. The support we offer at NCT is critical to help bridge this gap. 

Postnatal support at NCT 

To meet the needs of parents during this critical time, we’re phasing in a  new model of postnatal support within our NCT Antenatal courses that is flexible, scalable, and grounded in the realities of life with a newborn.

Parents attending our courses now have access to five live, interactive online postnatal sessions, each 45 minutes long and facilitated by experienced NCT practitioners. These sessions cover practical and essential topics such as: 

•    Infant feeding
• Newborn sleep
• Early communication and soothing
• Navigating emotional wellbeing
• Adjusting to life with a newborn

They are designed to be accessible and repeatable so parents can attend when it suits them, and revisit sessions as needed. For example, a parent struggling with sleep when their baby is four days old can attend a relevant session right then, with reassurance that more support is available when needed later. 

Peer networks and friendships often grow from  our antenatal courses – some stay in touch on Whatsapp, while others meet regularly. The connections course attendees form  can be  long-lasting and vital, and we are proud of our role in bringing parents together at this critical time in their lives.  

To further support parents, we provide follow-up resources after each session, with signposting to a wide range of NCT services, including our Parent Hub and our community-based services. 

Community based and parent-led support 

Community-based postnatal support plays a vital role in helping new parents feel connected, supported, and confident as they navigate life with a newborn.  

At NCT, we offer a wide range of local and accessible services that reflect the diversity of parents’ needs and experiences. From our volunteer-led NCT Walk & Talks, which give parents the chance to meet others, get outside, and build confidence together, to or our NCT Baby Cafés and community-based Breastfeeding Peer Support Groups, where parents can access expert, non-judgemental feeding support from their peers in a relaxed, local environment - we’re there every step of the way.  

Parents can also contact our trusted NCT Infant Feeding Line for personalised guidance on all aspects of feeding their baby, or access peer support for mental health through targeted community projects. We often work closely with partner organisations in local communities to enable holistic, wrap around support for new parents. This variety ensures that whatever parents are going through, they do not have to face it alone. 

Campaigning for Change 

Beyond our direct support for parents, we are actively lobbying and influencing  to improve postnatal care at a national level. With the NHS in England signalling a shift from acute to community care, and from treatment to prevention, we believe this is a pivotal moment to advocate for real, lasting change within the postnatal period.

We are calling for:

•    A simplified and more effective postnatal care pathway and an end to the postcode lottery in postnatal      services
• Expanded access to community-based mental health support for new parents
• Better, more consistent community-based infant feeding support across the UK

At NCT, we want to be there for parents, not just during pregnancy, but throughout the postnatal period. Because every parent deserves to feel confident, connected and safe as they begin life with their baby.