Antenatal classes in NSW

[desreb]

Hi all,

 

I'm trying to work out the antenatal system in NSW.

 

I've just been back to visit friends and family in the UK, and now with a new nephew for myself, and 3 friends pregnant - and everyone raves about how good the NCT is... how one friend has found their entire baby wardrobe at NCT sales for a fraction of the new cost, how my sister and her husband have made tonnes of new friends in their local NCT group who have become their primary support network, and so on.

 

I've tried googling for similar antenatal care in Sydney, and most hits appear to be bio-eco-green-natural-remedy private antenatal services. I tried a few links, and stopped when I found one that provides a service to throw away all your household chemicals for $200 plus $90 an hour.

 

Is there an equivalent to the NCT in Sydney/NSW? Or maybe a majority private or public group that has a similar approach and culture?

 

Thanks!

 

 

D

[Guest The Pom Queen]

Sorry never heard of the NCT hopefully someone out there can help

[Lisa&Martin]

Hi there, I had a baby in Sydney a year ago. Must say I felt completely out of my depth to start with but as time has gone on I have been so impressed with the services and resources available to new Mums here. In terms of buying things second hand, I did get a lot on Gumtree and Ebay, there is also something called the Baby & Kids market that is on in various Sydney locations every month or so. The hospital / obstetrician / doctor generally put you in touch with pre-birth info and resources, and post-birth there was a Early Childhood Centre at the local shopping centre where you went for a once-weekly meet-up for the first 12 weeks (the post-birth visit midwife gave me the details). I got to know a great group of Mums through that, we all still meet weekly, and different groups have formed swim groups for the babies, dog-walking groups etc, we do 'babes in arms' cinema trips (check out the local cinema listings, most cinemas do them). Other people go to a library service called 'Baby Bounce' which is free, involves songs and rhymes, there are also quite a few churches in the area that also host meet-ups which are not religious in content. I have also been so impressed by the parents' facilities in the shopping centres. Other friends who've had baby care & sleeping issues have called the Tresillian helpline or even been for a residential visit, I believe St John of God and Karitane also offer a similar service. There's a good link here: http://www.bubhub.com.au/directory/find/early-childhood-health-centres-sydney

I think basically when you are pregnant you feel like you are pretty much on your own, especially as a new migrant, as time goes on and especially after you give birth you start to find out about all the various resources, it's been great, if your friends are sociable types they will have no problem at all. Lisa x

Edited August 23, 2012 by Lisa&Martin
typos!

[desreb]

Hi Lisa - thanks for the reply (and sorry for the slow response). That's really good to know, and reassuring - we'll take a look for the markets, since they sound along the same lines as what we were expecting!

 

D

[desreb]

We've found the Kids' market at:

http://www.kidspot.com.au/babykidsmarket/#NSW

 

It does sound like a very commercial operation, rather than the more communal NCT classes. They cover Sydney metro every Sunday, so with the roaming around are only likely to be within 10-15km every month or two.