NCT
Also called nct, NCT class, NCT group, NCT friends, National Childbirth Trust
NCT is the National Childbirth Trust, a UK charity for pregnancy, birth and early parenthood that runs antenatal courses. Parents say NCT class for the course and NCT group or NCT friends for the other parents they met there.
How it's said
I honestly don't know how I'd have coped without my NCT friends.
During my maternity leave, I see my NCT group once a week or so (but not all at the same time).
My mum met her very best friend through NCT when she had me back in the 80s.
Who says it
Where it came from
Prunella Briance founded the charity in 1956 after an advertisement in The Times. It was first called the Natural Childbirth Association and drew on the work of the obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read. It held its first antenatal course in 1959 and took the name National Childbirth Trust in 1961.
Over time parents set up local branches to support each other, and its courses still put expecting parents in touch with others nearby.