Research

NCT has a long tradition of user involvement in setting the research agenda, influencing research questions, participation in collaborative research, research on parents’ experiences and needs, critiquing research and reviews of evidence, and disseminating and using research.

We believe that the services and information for parents should be responsive to parents' needs and preferences, work towards promoting public health and well-being, and help to provide a positive start in life for children. For this to be possible, it is necessary to be able to draw upon high quality evidence from both quantitative and qualitative research. 

NCT informs and supports all parents through its antenatal and postnatal services. NCT courses offer an opportunity for parents to explore different situations, experiences and views, facilitated by a practitioner (an antenatal teacher, breastfeeding counsellor or postnatal leader) who is trained in adult learning to work with groups participatively, using a strengths-based approach. In this context, parents are encouraged to share the knowledge they bring, to find out about others’ perspectives and be able to access relevant evidence-based information.  Through this kind of facilitated group work,  by meeting with parents informally and by accessing information online, NCT aims for parents to will feel empowered to make decisions that are right for them and their babies.

We arrange research-based and evidence-informed information under: Pregnancy, birth and postnatal care, Feeding babies, Programme for evaluation of NCT services, Parenting and Public Health. For NCT members and practitioners there are also additional resources on babble the NCT intranet.

New Research – Important new studies are published every week. Key recent studies include the Birthplace in England research programme results.