Postnatal Clinic

[FluffyDuckling]

Hi there,

Just wondered if anyone knew of alternative places/clinics to the postnatal clinic, at your own GPs, that you can get your baby weighed and plotted on the growth chart?

It's just that I seem, or feel, that I'm being treated like a child by my health visitors and subsequently my GP and would rather have it done elsewhere.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

[emilyandjohn]

hi
know what you mean about hvs and gps. I weigh ds2 at mothercare (they have baby scales for the car seats). I just change his nappy then weigh a replica outfit to what he is wearing, and use that to calculate his naked weight. I plot his weight myself.

[FluffyDuckling]

Hi emilyandjohn,

Really? Wow, I didn't know that Mothercare do that, that's great. Thanks so much for letting me know. Now I just somehow have to convince my dh to take us along, (I don't drive for medical reasons).

Do you know if it would be possible to weigh them without the car seat?

Thanks once again emilyandjohn, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders

[emilyandjohn]

hi again

the scales in my local mothercare are just standard baby scales - you don't need to use a car seat. The scales are in the car seat section so you can check which category car seat you should buy. If your mothercare doesn't have scales, you could always buy some (I saw them online for about £80). Anything to avoid clinic!

[ummadam]

Or grin and bear it I guess.... my HV's are exactly the same with me and I'm a dr! I know they don't mean to be patronising but I guess it is hard to find the right level with everyone. I try and put a smile on and get on with it but sometimes i want to scream.

Or if you are braver than me why not tell them how you feel - it will make your life easier in the long run - do it in a nice way as I'm sure they are trying to help - but it might help them to know they are not pitching their explanations at the right level for you and you are feeling patronised. You may end up with a good working relationship and as a bonus you'll get better advice than you would in mothercare

good luck.

[BlueberryPancake]

DS is 14 months and we've been to baby clinic 5 times. His weight is great, he is eating well, drinking well, there is no law saying that you have to go. If you have no health concern (ie normal birth weight, not premature, no illness, nothing to worry about) you can go when you want.

At my clinic, you can go for weight and consultation, or for weight only. There was also a post natal group, but I've been twice.

The other thing is to just smile and say thank you. My limited experience with HV hasn't been very positive, Once, a HV told me that from the day your child can crawl you should have all the radiators covered in the house. Righty ho. Thanks for the advice!

[RhinestoneCowgirl]

I never actually made it to 'clinic'. I did get DS weighed a few times at the bf group I went to - there were scales in the corner and you could weigh your own baby if you wanted to, not obligatory tho.

One rough and ready way is to weigh yourself on bathroom scales, then weigh yourself holding the baby. You can then work out the difference, which will be approx your baby's weight.

My mum has worked with babies and young children for 30+ years and has reassured me that weight is one tiny aspect of assessing a child's health.

[FluffyDuckling]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for all of your comments.

ummadam - I can't believe they treat a dr that way too - that shocks me. I can't put a smile on anymore to be honest. I feel like I have done that in so many aspects of my life that it's not being true to myself. If I tell them how I am feeling I worry that they will subsequently treat me and/or my DS differently and I wouldn't want to make things more awkward than they already are. I was going to consider making a complaint over the issue that they are being difficult about, (they took it completely out of context and then told my dr), but I just don't want things to get more awkward.

emilyandjohn - If you don't need to use a car baby seat then I'll just take my DS along and see what they've got. I know exactly what you mean though; absolutely anything to avoid the clinic.

BlueberryPancake - I wish I could take my DS as little as often but you see my DS has just turned 5 months old and I have had hv's come out to visit me once a month so far. Now the hv's are saying that I need to go to the clinic every week to have DS weighed and they and my dr agree that my DS is too old to now have a hv come out and see me now. It felt like a slap on the wrist. DS is healthy and has no weight issues and he drinks and sleeps well to not worry about him. Its just that they think I should be interacting with the other mothers on a weekly basis and they have also said that I need to get out of the house everyday. Before I was pregnant I only went out around 3 times a week because that's the way I am but they are now saying that's not good enough and that I should be out with DS every day. That would mean me changing the way I am to do so - why can't they just accept me the way I am? I think they're worried that I may have postnatal depression because I don't go out and meet people every day - I don't feel depressed but if anything is going to get me down it's their attitude towards me.

RhinestoneCowgirl - the same as I have mentioned above really. I also went to a bf group which was great and a very supportive atmosphere and group. The problem now is that I don't bf my DS anymore and so they won't allow me to attend that clinic That would have been the ideal for me but I never really succeeded with the bf-ing and therefore switched to formula when DS was 4 months. Are you allowed to weigh babies yourself for their red books? I thought I read in it that it had to be done by a health professional. I'll have to go and get his jabs done this month so he'll get weighed by them anyway - I'll have to somehow grin and bear it but I would at least like to prove that I am getting him weighed but just not there.

Thank you all

[RhinestoneCowgirl]

FluffyDuckling - 4 months is a great achievement for bf , a shame that you can't attend the group anymore as you found it a supportive environment .

I think at 5 months, with no weight issues, weighing every week seems a lot. Maybe you're right and the HVs are worried about PND, that's why they think they should see you every week. But maybe they could suggest other groups you could go to, now your baby is a bit older (if you want to that is, it's really up to you). Our health centre ran an 'under-ones' group, which was great and I met a group of mums who I 'graduated' to the local toddler group with. There's also things like baby massage, music groups, NCT coffee mornings - you name it! You don't have to commit to loads of things, but it can be a good way to meet new people, if that's what you want. But if you're the sort of person who likes being at home, don't feel pressured to do things you don't feel comfortable with.

FWIW no-one has asked to look at DS's red-book for yonks (apart from jabs) and he is coming up for 2.

Apologies if a bit long, hth

[emilyandjohn]

I agree that 4 months bf is a great achievement - particularly if you found it difficult!

I'm sorry that the doctors and hvs are putting you under pressure. Just a thought - if you feel like getting out without interacting with lots of other mums and babies, and you don't want to walk for miles, have you considered going to a local park? I take my ds1 (who's 2.11) to the park all the time, and ds2 (8 weeks) also loves it when I slide him down the bottom part of the slide and bounce him on things.

Anyway, you could always tell your hv that you come on mumsnet and interact with us here!