NCT Courses and Covid-19

Covid-19 price promise: If some or all of your course takes place online due to Covid-19, we promise to give you a course price discount related to how much of the course is online. 

Courses until the end of April 2021 are online to bring you local, fully interactive and inclusive courses when Covid-19 infection rates are high and official guidance for pregnant women remains in place – a decision supported by the Royal College of Midwives. 

"Antenatal classes can be incredibly helpful in preparing for childbirth and parenthood – and for meeting and sharing experiences with other parents-to-be. Online classes, like those offered by NCT, are the safest and most practical option currently and still offer those opportunities, even if the experience is different to getting together in person."

- Royal College of Midwives 

We are taking decisions on whether courses from May 2021 onwards will be delivered online or in-person on a month-by month-basis.  We are updating course information on our website and contacting you if have booked a course place explaining why, so you know how your course will run 6-10 weeks before it begins. 

How we make decisions about the delivery of NCT courses

As the UK’s largest parenting charity and leader in the field of antenatal education, we make informed decisions with full consideration to the current and any (confirmed) future UK government restrictions and official guidance and the most reliable research findings and data regarding pregnancy and Covid-19.   

We also consult closely with our colleagues at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and Royal College of Midwives (RCM).  

It’s our charitable mission to support all parents to have the most positive experiences of pregnancy, birth and the early days, so we will: 

  • act promptly and transparently, informing you how and why your course will be delivered as early as practically possible.  
  • always make decisions that offer the best experiences available whilst protecting you, our parents, your babies and our NCT course leaders. 

Deborah is currently a student NCT doula. She lives in Gloucestershire and can support parents living in the Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Gloucester Districts. 

Would you like Deborah to be your doula?

Email: deborahgellman@hotmail.com  or call 07846 472854 

 

About Deborah

Debs is a mum to four teenage sons and has a wealth of experience supporting women during pregnancy and delivering antenatal support programmes across Gloucestershire. 

Her love of working with parents has encouraged Debs to extend her support to the role of a doula, and she considers it a privilege to be able to support women and their partners through labour and birth. 

Debs’ experience with many different families means she is non-judgemental and accepting of others, and believes in supporting women to make the choices that are right for them. She believes that if a woman feels totally cared for and is treated with kindness and respect they are more likely to feel that they have had a positive birth experience. Debs will give reassurance and emotional and physical support throughout your labour, whether at a hospital, birthing centre or home environment and make sure you and your partner feel comfortable and cared for. 

Deborah is currently a student NCT doula. An important part of training for this role is that Debs is required to support a woman or couple through birth with the support of the NCT doula tutors. Your baby needs to be due between the end of February and mid-April 2021 for you to be able to consider asking Debs to be your birth doula. The fee for Debs to support you has been appropriately set to recognise the fact that she is a student. 

Katherine Berzins

Qualifications

  • NCT Birth & Beyond Cert HE (2016)     
  •  Debs has over 3 years’ experience creating and providing antenatal programmes and pregnancy group support for Home-Start, a charity supporting families throughout the UK.
  • Debs will complete her Birth & Beyond Foundation Degree training in June 2021 and will qualify as an NCT Antenatal Practitioner and an NCT Doula. 

Practicalities

Debs will provide support by:

  • Offering an initial meeting so you can decide if she is the right doula to support you. There will be no obligation to proceed.                                   
  • Meeting with you twice before the birth of your baby so we can get to know each other. She will use this time to answer any questions, help you to feel prepared and to understand how you would like to be supported during your labour and birth.            
  • Being available by text, phone or email during your pregnancy.
  • Being on call 24/7, ten days before your due date and until your baby is born. 
  • Staying with you throughout your labour and birth. 
  • Providing one postnatal visit, meeting with you after the birth of your baby and giving you the opportunity to talk through your birth experience and discuss any other support you may need. 
NCT Membership

NCT Membership

Become an NCT member and join a community of new parents, all experiencing pregnancy, birth and early parenthood together.

Find out more