To not understand why baby's weights are converted from kg to lbs by midwives and health visitors

[reallytired]

I was born in 1975 and decimelisation happened in 1974.

My daughter (who was born in 2009) is very small for her age. We have had the health visitor come out to weigh her because she is on 0.4th centile and I find it really hard to get to clinic.

I have a lovely health visitor who converts her weight (in kg that I understand) to lbs (which is gobbly gook to me!).

My health visitor is also concerned about my weight and asked me what I weighed. I told her that I was 169cm tall and weighed 54kg. Her next question was "What that in stone?" I had to go and get a calcuator to convert it for her.

My health visitor is very talented at job. I can't fault her in any way. It does seem weird that she uses imperial units for her job. Especially as she trained after decimelisation.

Oddly I think in kilos for everything except babies, when I think in pounds and ounces.

But for measuring a baby I think in metres.

Most people here still use imperial I find.

do you mean metric not decimilisation? Decimilisation refers to going from £.s.d to £.p

Metric didn't really become a legal requirement until 1995.

Because if you have to tell your mum/MIL/gran the baby's weight in kilos they will have no clue what you are talking about.

TBh I was born in 1973 and was taught only the metric system but I use a hybrid of Imperial/Metric. What is the big deal?

I think it is simply that in the UK we still use both imperial and decimal, even nowadays.

Miles on motorway signs
Pints for milk and beer
Stones/lbs for weights
Inches for bra sizes

Despite having only ever known decimalisation (born in 73) I still would weigh myself in stones and measure myself in feet and inches.

I wouldn't have a clue what my heoght and weight was in kgs and cms. Everyon know, bar my Australian SIL, uses imperial for their own measurements.

We weigh in kg but convert to lb and oz as most parents request that we do

Its a none issue imo.

What Hulababy said. And I was born in 1975.

Decimisation related to mony though doesn't it?

It isn't that long ago shops were forced to move to metric from imperial is it? I remember that happening and sure I was an adult when it did.

I would have thought that most people don't 'understand' kilograms. I'm sure my red book had both in it.
It's funny though.

Ah thanks SNF - thought metric change over was later.

TBH I am more suprised that someone born in 75 doesn't know both imperial and metric measurements.

Human weight gets done in pounds and ounces in this house, can't cope with kilos.

Born in 1980 and I have no idea about kg. I only know my height in feet and inches, my weight in stone and DS's birthweight in pounds and oz.

Shops moved over around 1999 I think... was still pounds when I had a part-time job in a supermarket.

Every parent I know asks for their baby's weight to be converted to pounds and ounces.

according to this the EEC have given up getting us to go metric

I do understand both imperial and metric, but I feel more comfortable in metric.

I think that a health professional should be conversant in metric if the patient chooses to give her weight in metric. It really seems daft that a health professional needs to convert to imperial.

However my health visitor is excellent. I don't think an inablity to understand kilos is a major failing.

Most people talk about weight in stones and pounds. If I ever read about people's weight in magazines, it's always in stones and pounds.

I'm 19, and whilst I've always been taught at school kilo weights, when it comes to babies, I always think pounds and ounces. Makes no sense to be otherwise.

Metrication was forced on us by the (then) EU in the late 1990s. I can easily convert by doing mental calculations BUT I am more comfortable with Imperial. The reason being that:
a) I am old and that's how I think (born 1960)
b)some calculations are faster e.g 1" = 2.5cm so that's more rounded for quick metric calculations but 1 kg = 2.2 lbs so less easy for metric which is based on a decimal system.
Until all of us old people are dead we will still have a mixture - you'll just have to live with it

I was born in 1971 after decimalisation and weigh in stones and pounds. Kilos are for meat. Agree it's a non issue.

I found it confusing when HV would write in the red book something like 10.5 lbs. Do they mean 10.5 lbs, or 10lbs 5 oz? If they are going to write in imperial, it should be written in accepted imperial practice, not in a mixture! You can imagine them measuring medicine like that and then wonder why they kill people!

Crikey, is this really something to complain about? I too am a hybrid of metric and imperial thinking and just cannot see a problem with this.

10.5 lbs is 10 pounds and 5 ounces. But you are right decimal point errors are an issue in medication errors.

I'm only a couple of years younger than the OP and have no idea what 169cms or 54kg really means in terms of a person. I find myself thinking well a meter is about a yard, so you must be five foot something. But then I'm not a healthcare professional. My children's records were all metric though past the baby book.

I have no clue about metric weights, although I do think metric for length/height.

As a HV I understand metric measurements and weigh in these. I do convert them though as most parents ask me to. Even the few 16 year olds I deal with want to know the weight in pounds and ounces.

Nor do I record 10.5lbs . Even worse I just put 10.5.

I need it in pounds, ounces and stones because kilos mean absolutely nothing to me! And I was born in 1980.

Don't most of us weigh ourselves in stones and pounds on our bathroom scales? Or is that just me.........

I use the kg setting on my bathroom scales if I'm feeling fat. I have no idea what kg are, so can interpret them how I like