Hi Claire
I went to a hypnobirthing course ahead of the birth of my baby in December and found it absolutely tremendous. I had a home birth and had a totally natural birth and found the relaxation and breathing techniques I'd learned completely invaluable, the whole experience was excellent and very relaxed so I'd thoroughly recommend it.
However, on the other side of the coin, unfortunately I don't know of any way of getting it for free. We paid £250 for the course, which was 2 full days and then a follow-up session. I know there's also some practitioners who run the course over a few more days but shorter sessions but I think the price is pretty similar everywhere. If you think you can't stretch to it, I know you can buy the book about it which is very good (you get it on the course if you can make it) - although you don't get to go through the techniques with a practitioner it is all straightforward and you could get your birth partner to read it too to practice with you (its really important that your birth partner learns it too).
I didn't go to any other ante-natal classes - a) because I wasn't offered them and b) because the information will be totally different to anything I would learn on the hypnobirthing course. When the time came for my son to be born, the midwives who attended were very interested and supportive of the hypnobirthing even though they had no experience of it. You could ask your midwives what they know of it and, if they do, whether they know of any way to get it either free or at a reduced price.
The book, if bought alone, is around £12 I think (I'm sure you can get it on Amazon). You also get a CD on the course, again which I believe you can buy (for doing the relaxation techniques). On the course they give handouts too but whats on there is covered in the book.
If you can't stretch to getting on a course but can manage to get a copy of the book, contact me on my email and I'll be happy to copy the handouts and CD for you and send them on to you. If thats something you're interested in, my email is thejensenselope2vegas@hotmail.co.uk. I know its not quite the same as attending a course but it might help a bit.
Jo x