Happy Parents. Happy Baby. Antenatal Classes Reviews 

We booked Happy Parent, Happy Baby when we found out we didn't get anything as standard through the NHS.

Booking was really simple and stress-free. Once I signed up, everything I needed was sent over clearly, and I got access to the online portal about a week before it all started, which made things feel really organised.

One of my favourite parts was the videos before each session. They were so helpful in giving me a heads-up on what to expect, and I liked having the time to think things through and come up with questions beforehand.

The in-person session was great too. It felt really relaxed and informative. We went into more detail and actually got to practise what we’d learned, which made a big difference. The course leader Louise, was lovel, super knowledgeable but also really approachable, and she made sure everyone felt comfortable asking questions at any point.

The Thursday Q&A sessions were another highlight. It was nice knowing they were recorded in case you couldn’t make it, and having specialists there meant we could get really helpful answers. It also gave me a chance to ask things I’d thought of after the in-person session.

Overall, I had such a positive experience with Happy Parent, Happy Baby. I feel so much more confident going into this next stage, and it genuinely made me feel more prepared. I also love that there’s a reunion planned once all the babies are here. It’s such a nice touch and something I hadn’t seen with other antenatal classes.

I’d honestly recommend Happy Parent, Happy Baby to anyone thinking about antenatal classes.

Engaging teacher, relevant content and a great balance of social and learning. We left feeling more confident about everything to come!

Brilliant opportunity to meet people in a similar situation, and learn so much more than I believed was needed.

Bryony was absolutely fantastic sharing her own personal experience as well as always being available for extra questions and guidance. The course was ran really well, the interactive activities were so helpful and there were so many online resources too! Couldn’t recommend enough!

An excellent course with so much information that has made me feel much more prepared for birth and beyond! It was also a great way to meet other parents in the area.

Really informative course and loved how hands on and practical it was, bonus was getting to meet and connect with all the other expecting parents!

Great antenatal course! Would recommend!

We took the HPHB classes in Haywards Heath and they were amazing. Lauren was so personable and approachable, making the sessions light hearted and sociable but super informative. She always took the time to answer any questions we had and explained things so clearly. The range of topics covered has made us feel much more prepared for baby’s arrival and the online portal helped give us a bit of knowledge prior to each session so we knew what sort of things we would be learning and could go equipped with any questions we might have. Would definitely recommend to other soon-to-be parents!

Fantastic course, well organised and a lovely knowledgeable midwife and Mum herself (Gemma) leading the classes. Very sociable and facilitated making new baby friends in a relaxed way!

We had such an amazing time at happy parents happy baby learning new skills and met some lovely new parents. Georgie was our course lead and she was really reassuring especially with first aid elements. So worth it to get us ready for the next chapter and feel like we have a local support network. Would recommend to everyone, thank you!

All I can say was this course was so worthwhile! It was so informative, great value for money and my husband & I learned so much. We thought we knew a lot but the course covered areas in which we had no idea or even considered. The first aid was the best part and we now feel prepared in case of an emergency! The videos, in-person sessions and zoom was fantastic. Everyone was lovely and shout out to Casey, our in-person lead! She was hilarious, informative, encouraging and helped alleviate concerns. I highly recommend HPHB!

The instructor was great - friendly, non judgmental and knowledgeable. The first 2 sessions covering birth were fantastic. However, the next 2 sessions covering post birth were very rushed and it felt like they crammed too much in. A 5 min talk on breastfeeding followed by 5 mins of group chat on the subject barely scratched the surface! It felt like we were racing through some really important topics I.e. mental health was covered in about 5 mins at the very end of the final session. The session 5 ‘social’ is such a wasted opportunity. Essentially, you’re provided with an empty room. There needs to be something with this session e.g. a quiz on everything you’ve learnt, a drop in session with the instructor or a free drink. I agree with other reviews RE group size. We had 28 people on our course which was far too many for the room size. There were people that we never got to speak to! Overall, it’s a lot of money for not enough learning (especially given ‘session 5’ isn’t actually a session!).

When it comes to the birth experience, there’s so much emphasis on how lovely it’ll be, just breathing and helping your oxytocin kick in. They make it seem like the easiest thing in the world. And woke nonsense like ‘abdominal birth’ instead of caesarean is really focusing on the wrong things.

The reality is we needed an emergency section after a long and gruelling labour, which has been incredibly traumatic for both parents. The course fails to prepare for you for the fact this is a hugely impactful major surgery, and will mean a lot of stress placed on the partner and wider support system.

You need to look at your curriculum and spend less time charging £250 to tell everyone it’ll be fine, when in fact it really might not.

HPHB was a brilliant experience for my partner and I, and we would definitely recommend to any first time parents. The online resources are very informative and easy to follow. The in person meetings were not only extremely informative, but also a great chance to meet other parents to be, as well as a chance to do some practical tasks. Sophie, who led our sessions, was fantastic - amazingly knowledgeable and a great presenter.

As a result of the course and the resources we now have, we definitely feel a lot more confident as we approach parenthood!

Our sessions were really well structured and Sophie who held our classes seemed really knowledgeable. I believe the group we had also made the experience great as everyone was engaged and wanted to get the most out of the classes

The course felt overpriced for what it offered. It wasn’t clear who the target audience was—whether it was aimed at basic information or those looking for more in-depth information. Although the midwife was friendly and approachable, the content felt rushed, sometimes sessions ended a bit earlier and I personally gained more from reading a book. Others in my group shared similar views.
Some important topics, such as tummy time and what to expect in the first few days after birth, were not covered. There was also limited opportunity to socialise with others, as most of the time was spent working with your own partner or in pairs, which restricted interaction with the other birthing partners which was important to me.
Given the cost, I expected a higher standard of content, but at times it felt quite basic—more like GCSE-level childcare. Activities such as mixing milk could have been replaced with more advanced or practical information. I had specifically chosen this course for its hypnobirthing component, but that aspect was quite limited as well as it lacked depth.
Our midwife didn’t come to our social which isn’t a big deal but the social wasn’t even booked out in the pub so meant our group had to divide into two which was a shame. I don’t think you can really include a “social” within the course as you don’t even get a free drink! It would have been nice for there to be more hospitality within the course.
The online Thursday sessions were the most valuable part of the course. Overall, I feel that much of the same information could be accessed through free NHS classes. The strong reviews and awards initially persuaded me to book, but I do wonder whether there is a lack of more balanced feedback, as it seems likely others may have had a similar experience.

My opinion is that this is a lot of money for what you get. There are four learning sessions working out at £50 per couple including the accompanying online content. For this I would have expected to at least be provided with some tea/coffee and biscuits or even snacks at the in person sessions but we were only provided with water. Considering there were 14 couples that's a lot of money made per session (£700) so a little more thought should be put into the hospitality. The sessions had great information, our midwife was lovely, but were a rush so there was little time to really get to know the other couples. Our first session also started over 30 mins late due to technical difficulties so the session was reduced to 1.5 hours. The session were held in a hotel conference room that was an awkward shape and felt too corporate compared to these lovely spaces advertised.
I felt that the sessions were so rushed that there wasn't actually much time to practice during the practical parts. Some things were missing at our venue too like the ability to make up milk powder. We were also given a large doll with a tiny nappy that didn't actually fit to practice with.

The online content is pack with info so good to look back on but not great for visual learners, it is mostly someone stood in a black t-shirt with a white background talking at you with very little demonstration or images to support the content. This needs to be improved as it is not the most engaging however there are some good resources included.

As for the social...well basically they just book you a table at a venue. No snacks or even a free drink and no information about what to expect provided beforehand. The social therefore can't really be included as part of the package.

I dont regret the course and found the social to be the occasion where we actually got to know the other couples but I wouldn't sing the praises of this course based on what was mentioned above. I look forward to the reunion to see everyone again but not sure what to expect from HPHB.

(March - Derby)

The course was a great opportunity to learn about newborn essentials and to bond with other parents in the area. Our instructor Siobhan was so friendly and explained everything in detail and made sure no one is missing out, we are grateful to her.

We were part of the Chapel Allerton December class and it was absolutely brilliant — we’d highly recommend it to any parents-to-be!

Our course was led by Anna, and she deserves a huge shoutout because she was incredible. As a practising midwife, she gave really knowledgeable and practical information across all the topics we covered. She was super approachable and encouraged questions at any time, which made us feel genuinely confident going into childbirth.

Honestly, I can’t imagine going to hospital when labour started without everything we learned. The hypnobirthing techniques and breathing through contractions helped so much, as did understanding the different pain relief options — when they’re offered, how they work, and possible side effects.

Having all that knowledge made us feel far more relaxed, especially knowing how things might unfold if plan A didn’t go to plan (which it didn’t — and that was okay!).

Alongside learning from Anna, one of the best parts was meeting the other couples. We still have an active WhatsApp group where we share advice and tips, and it’s lovely knowing we’ll all be meeting up with our babies soon. Being connected to people going through the same experience has been really special.

All in all, we wholeheartedly recommend Happy Parents Happy Baby. Thank you again to Anna and the team for such a fantastic course :)

We had three different facilitators across our 4 sessions. One of the facilitators was awesome. One was good. One of them (who we had twice) was really quite poor and didn’t seem to know what she was talking about.

They cancelled our reunion with one days notice, apparently because they forgot to book the venue. Very disappointed by this as that’s a key part of the package sold.

Great to meet other soon-to-be parents but you get that at any antenatal class!