When Catherine Lumb phoned up to book antenatal classes she was in for a shock.

A recorded message said that classes in Watford — where she is due to have her first child in July — had been suspended. It was the same story in Harrow, where she lives. “I was told I would have to go private, or buy a book,” she said.

The 31-year-old interior designer went on the internet and found a baffling array of private companies offering everything from one-to-one lessons at home to luxury weekends away with her husband, Ed.

She decided on a weekend course in the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral run by Gentle-Birth, staying overnight at a nearby hotel.

“It would have been very difficult for me to fit in a series of two-hour classes every Wednesday morning, so this was perfect,” she said.

“It also meant my husband would have to come too and listen to everything.”

The couple attended the class last weekend and believe that the £340 was money well spent. “I feel far more relaxed and confident about the whole thing,” she said. “The midwife who took the course made me feel very empowered. It was also good to do it at the weekend when we could really focus on what we were hearing, and really nice to do it together.”

She said that it was a shame that the service could not be offered to everyone.

“I was very surprised when I found out the NHS didn’t offer any classes any more. I suppose pregnancy is increasingly seen as a choice, and heart disease and cancer are the priorities.”

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