Released on: 04 January 2013

In response to comments by Kirstie Allsopp on Twitter on 3rd January 2013, Belinda Phipps, Chief Executive of parent charity NCT said:

 

"NCT antenatal courses cover all the topics that are relevant to expectant and new parents, including giving birth by caesarean section and pain management. One of the reasons our courses are attended by more than 160,000 parents each year is the content of the course is also influenced by the expressed needs and wants of the small groups attending. 

“This means that some topics may be discussed at more length than others, and no two classes are quite the same. Because we know that not all everyone will retain the wealth of information they receive on a course, we also offer support online and through our helplines 

"Results of extensive evaluation of our services shows that NCT courses dramatically increase both women's and men's confidence about birth and that the vast majority of first-time mothers and fathers felt that their course provided evidence-based information from a reliable source. Our research also showed that over 90% of first-time mothers and fathers felt their needs were met by the course and would recommend it to other parents.

"We have been running courses for new parents for over fifty years, have had well over two million parents through our classes and continually work to improve our services. As any good, public-facing organisation, we encourage feedback on all our courses and ask anyone who isn't satisfied to contact us directly, so we can learn from their experience."

 

NCT contacted Kirstie Allsopp by letter in February 2011. This followed earlier conversations on Twitter and in the Telegraph. A copy of the letter is available in the related documnets box to the right.

No response was received from Ms Allsopp or her representatives as result of the letter.

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