No more Parentcraft classes?

I had to show my daughter how to bathe her baby son when he was first born as she hadn’t been taught how either in parentcraft classes or at the hospital. I was quite shocked that for such a basic task no guidance had been offered.

I thought all young people nowadays get their information from Youtube videos?

Our practical babycare took place in hospital when your first baby was born ( and you had to stay in for 8 days!)

I also remember you got to go out on the night before you went home, and baby stayed in the hospital.

My DIL didn’t even have a midwife just a few visits to hospital and no antenatal classes at all.

When my first son was born and placed in an incubator, I was the NNEB who took the parenting classes in the hospital.
It wasn't compulsory but most of the first-time Mum's came along.

Even if you've read all the baby books during pregnancy, you still may not know how to hold a soapy baby safely in its bath (your arm across its back and firmly but gently grip the upper arm) or how to fold a nappy so it fits a prem baby or a 9lb one.

Maybe there's room for a gradnparent volunteer to do this? I would like a shot.

What is NNEB?
Neither DD had these taught. They had antenatal classes and was about pregnancy, labour etc. Went to a class with DD1 and we were both shocked when midwife started going on about diamorphine in labour and resuscitating the baby! I think it gave everyone the fear!
DD1 and SiL were shown how to give a bath in NNU as DGS1 was 9 weeks early and not 4lbs when he came home. They had help from the neonatal nurses for nappies etc as he was in an incubator. Also with latching. DD2 had none of that - only me to show her!

Bathing a newborn baby isn't considered necessary nowadays and in fact it may be detrimental to their skin health. My dd was told to just wipe her baby clean.

I don't ever remember parenting classes, either when I had my DC or my DC had their babies.

No, I do not remember parenting classes either, just some pretty poor ante-natal classes. Whenever we asked about and problems that could arise the midwife would dissmiss them as unlikely to happen. I was told I was 'morbid' for continuing to bring the subject up and wanting a difficult labour

So my DS was induced when 10 days overdue, I had a very long labour, was rushed by ambulance in mid-labour from a GP unit to a main hospital and ended up having a forceps delivery. Whenever I met anyone who attended the same class, the first thing we said was, 'Weren't the classes useless?'

Second time around I paid to do NCT classes and that made all the difference in the world and resulted in an incredibly easy birth.

I just googled "how to bath a baby". There's plenty of stuff on the internet. Maybe that's why it's felt parentcraft classes aren't needed.

I went to ante natal classes; they showed a very graphic film od childbirth and I passed out.
The young woman next to me helped me and we became firm friends for years until she died at too young an age.

I remembered how to bath a baby from seeing my baby sister bathed.

There were plenty of baby books around and, as I had my first child in my late 20s, I had plenty of time to observe friends and relations with their children.

If looking after a baby was that difficult, there wouldn't be 6 or 7 billion of us around now. I think being an older mother I had more self-confidence and anyway most babies have a healthy pair of lungs to let you know when you get it wrong.

No NCT classes near me so I had nothing apart from Erna Wright's book (slightly terrifying) The New Childbirth. I also listened to DM and friends' tales.

8 days in hospital and we were shown how to bath and change nappies. I was never taught how to breast feed. I managed eventually to get the hang of it.

fast forward 40 years , DD had a C section, still no help with breast feeding. A nurse asked her "does it tickle?" when her nipples were bleeding. She managed.

NNEB is Nursery Nurse Examination Board qualification