Created: 1955
Where: London
Scale: Supports 100,000 new parents a year

Originally called the Natural Childbirth Trust, young mother Prunella Briance’s advert in The Times offering advice and support to pregnant women began a new age of information for prospective mothers. Whilst advice about parenthood was commonplace, knowledge of childbirth, including the different options available, was very limited amongst the general population, and as such childbirth was regarded with fear and incomprehension by many.

The NCT, through its structure of inclusive classes and publicly available information, has made a significant national impact in educating prospective parents and demystifying the perils and process of birth.

From the first antenatal class in 1959, the NCT now supports over 100,000 new parents a year – from the initial classes, to building localised support networks of parents and offering advice on early years parenting, the modern NCT is far broader in its scope than its original mission, adapting to the scale of support and information needed by new parents.