YORK Hospital says its virtual antenatal classes are proving popular.

A drop in women going to antenatal classes to prepare for giving birth led to a decision to phase out classes for most women at the hospital trust.

Instead, the hospital became the first in the country to replace antenatal lessons with “virtual classes” for expectant mothers to watch online — a decision that was questioned by the parenting charity NCT.

York Hospital has said it has an average of more than 900 views through the link on its website every month, which corresponds with the number of women going through the service. The breastfeeding film has almost 250,000 hits on You Tube, a spokeswoman said.

An online survey and postcard survey on the Labour Ward is being carried out to gauge opinion.