Are health visitors always so….hands off?

[Suprima]

I had my second HV appointment today, which was very similar then first.

Baby was weighed but I expected her to be checked all over. They also haven’t been interested in seeing where she slept or the state of the house.

I could have had her sleeping in a cot in another room, full of bumpers + soft toys and she would have been none the wiser.

Are they

I don’t really understand why it’s of relevance. I’m not coming from a place of ‘oh they won’t check my special little PFB darling’s empty chicco next2me cot!!!’ - I just really figured they’d want to check up on me more, and I would be happy for them to. Clearly I am in the minority- I wouldn’t think they were being nosy at all. They are HCPs doing their job and their job is to advise me and support me in keeping my baby healthy and safe.

It's not their jobs to physically check babies or your home.

They are there to provide support and advice on health and development if it's needed for under 5s

Yes - marks. Or any signs or illness that aren’t obvious.

They aren't doctors, they can't diagnose illness. If you have any concerns you need to take them to a GP.

It isn't just "weighing the baby" and nothing else, as PP explained, the baby will be stripped down to be weighed. They would be able to see any marks/anything abnormal etc. It doesn't always look obvious that they're checking but they're trained and do it so often they know what they're looking for. If they had any concerns it would be referred to social services and they would be the ones to check your home etc.

I personally got leaflets in both pregnancies from my midwife about safe sleeping guidelines, empty cot etc. You should still be under the care of the midwife for the first 2 weeks before being discharged to the HV so it makes sense that they should be the one to discuss safe sleep.
Having said that, both babies the HV asked if I knew the guidelines for safe sleep (I said yes and that was it).

My HV did check where baby was sleeping!
She asked to see it, so I took her upstairs and showed her the nexttome.
She was absolutely lovely, mostly chatted/checked about stuff I already knew, but there was some helpful/reassuring stuff.

This.

Are you really incapable of keeping your own baby healthy and safe op? Maybe you should refer yourself to early help.

I think your expectations are a bit off to be honest. Sounds like your combining several jobs into one already massively overstretched service. At least you got to see a HV in the flesh, that’s a lot more than some of us!

They do ask now to see sleeping area, it's to check it's safe (no bumpers or toys etc)

It's not a new thing where I live

You can't win on MN, if a HV asks she's a nosey busy body
If she doesn't she's neglecting safeguarding 😱

Also families that need extra support do get extra visits, there's a universal and then an enhanced pathway. I assume a large % of HV time is spent with these families.

This. Hv job is to make sure the baby is putting weight on and growing properly and they don’t do the same checks they do on the 1st visit as if there were anything wrong with hips, legs etc that would have got pick up on already. If they had any concerns for baby regarding where baby was sleeping or if ur house was a state then they would contact social services

Perhaps it would have been useful if OP was told prior to giving birth or leaving the hospital what exactly to expect from a HV. I can’t imagine a 60 second explanation from someone would have hurt.

It was a quite long time ago, but the HV never checked anything else other than he looked fine and growing when they came for home visit. But also when I had a worry and asked for their help, they were really helpful. They referred my dc to the specialist and help him to get appropriate treatment and help.
I have great respect and gratitude for HV.

I think, in reality, you will have been assessed by the HV as low risk and therefore they won't give you that much attention unless you ask for it. I had a high risk pregnancy which meant that I was flagged to the HV for extra support automatically. I didn't need it personally but I know from talking to the team that a large amount of their time is spent on a relatively small number of higher risk women and babies. Clearly that means that there is a risk that some women who are struggling may fall through the cracks but with such limited resource, they have to prioritise somehow.

15 years ago when I had my son the health visitor checked my son's weight and his head etc and she asked to see where he slept and to look in the kitchen to see the sterilizer too as I was bottle feeding. She retired so when I had my 2 ND baby I got another health visitor who just did the weight and check and had a chat , she said my previous health visitor was very old school because she'd been 1 for a long time and they don't do those things anymore.

Thankfully no HV has asked to see where baby sleeps (as it's my bed and I'm sure that would go down like a lead balloon ).

I think some of the stuff you mention would come from a social work referral if a HV noticed something wasn't right (chaotic house, struggling mum, etc.) or if the mum was already under social work care or postnatal mental health team.

With HVs I've found that if you need the support they might be great (or rubbish) but I never have wanted it so I'm personally glad it has been hands off as someone giving me advice on stuff I already know cos I do my own research would really irritate me Ideally their level of involvement is guided by how much you want them involved, assuming there are no red flags from their visit.

Mine didn't even ask to see DD's bedroom.

She clearly clocked we were literate and ostensibly middle class, and figured everything was above board.

The health visitor will have started her assessment of you from the moment she arrived at your home .

Smell , trash , clutter , cleanliness , noise , your presentation - interaction - engagement with baby -

Baby wearing appropriate weather clothing , skin tone showing dehydration or healthy facial tone - fullness of nappy - weight change

In an ideal world they would have all the time in the world but for the majority of the population who deliver healthy wanted babies - it takes seconds to assess this home is safe - or this family needs formal assessment so please relax and enjoy your baby .

Congratulations 💐

I don’t get why you’re having a such a hard time and some of the responses are very patronising (and some downright rude).

I agree and I think it’s odd no one would check these basic things. If the HV is there anyway, it’s just an extra pair of eyes to advise a new parent on anything they may have missed.

You typically can’t adopt a dog without the shelter wanting to know everything about your life, so the lack of simple checks for babies is a bit odd (and I think actually a lot of new mums would like an expert they could check everything with; especially as in many cases they might have no family nearby).

I remember being utterly amazed at how little input there was from
the professionals when my first was born - 20 years ago
they just came for ‘a chat’. - a questionnaire about my mh - I didn’t know her so I didn’t let on how bad I felt and a telling off that my husband was at work !
Can’t remember her weighing baby at home
I think she saw my children twice maybe three times - I had no idea until today hv are responsible for under 5s

My HV was absolutely excellent, 30 years ago. She came and babysat my baby and toddler while I went to my DH’s funeral, checked on me regularly thereafter, and got my GP to visit me at home when she realised I was too devastated by grief to take the DC out anywhere.
Even in the early months, when DH was still alive, she always weighed and checked the babies meticulously, and was very clued up to pick up any problems. It’s a shame if current new mothers are not getting that level of professionalism and support.

My HV and the midwife you get for the first 10 days after birth here, kept trying to do the chats over the phone and it was my first baby so I just wanted someone to come and check I was doing it okay 🙄

Oh boy, my age appropriate toy for two newborns was the remote control and a plastic cup.

Is this the PFB OP?

I also can’t believe how rude some of the responses are! HV / midwife checks massively vary by area. I wonder if some people realise how services changed during covid.

My first baby was April 2020 and I one HV phone call and that was it, then 1 at home midwife check and left to my own devices.

I gave birth again this week and already had a midwife check at home today where she went through a huge list of questions including asking to see where the baby sleeps, where will she nap, do we drink, do we co sleep etc etc etc. We then have a few midwife appts at home over the next few days plus I’ve had a call from the HV.

It seemed totally standard, there are no concerns / markers about us to trigger additional questions IMO.

I assume this kind of thing was what OP was expecting

When I had my first baby @Suprima which was back in 2011 the HV did come along and do an "environment check" involving a look at our sleeping environment, chat about smoking / drugs, discussion about car seats etc. My baby was checked all over for marks at every MW and HV check, I was asked if we were safe at home (DH was nade to leave the room on an errand eg ooh dad would you grab me a pen please this one's not working)

There was a definite safeguarding role as there bloody should be. YANBU to have expected this but maybe things vary area to area.

My god this is just so rude!