So what is the point of Health Visitors?

[wonderstuff]

I've seen 3 so far, they all seem very nice, but really not very useful.

Today lovely lady came by, did PND questionnaire, weighed my baby. Talked about weaning - advised that some babies (especially boys) are ready for weaning at 4 months, to be aware of him taking interest in us eating couldn't give any advise about BLW as no reseach has been done and she doesn't want to get sued - fair enough, but seemed strange that on the weaning age she was willing to contradict research evidence. She also warned of 'missing weaning window at 6 months' I didn't ask what would happen - will I end up bfeeding forever, Little Britain style? Told me breastfeeding was tiring (there was me thinking it was the lack of sleep that was knackering but presumbably if I bottle fed I'd have much more energy?) She stayed for half an hour.

Really what is the point - could money be better spend on Midwifery or Social care?

Great - now back to usual abuse. Twats ?

i guess more trainning and more hvs are needed, do they are better prepared to do the job and less stressed, maybe that way they wouldn't say so may stupid things.

Yep, back to the strident abuse. Must be draining to live with that amount of anger.

many hv do a demanding job with limited resources and many challenges. they get pilloried on mn but overall have a gargantuan task and case-load as front line staff with statutory duties

I had one that visited me and whilst drinking tea told me all about another new mother she had been visiting who had had a baby out of wedlock (shock!!! Horror!!!) and was ... Wait for it... Asian!!! And did I know whether this was common and wanted to know how the asian families dealt with it!

Because ofcourse I would know - because I share the same ethnic background! But never mind that I was suffering PND and had a refluxing baby and was struggling to move after an emergency c section.

Seriously why do we need Hv's????

Should add am not saying all HV are same - just all the ones I came across, and there were a few. However my friend who lives in another area had excellent experiences with her hv who visited regular and were very helpful / informative! So I'm wondering whether the quality of hv's is based on the areas they are employed... Just a thought.

I am very pro health visitors.

But my experiences were similar to above in some ways.

If I look back at all the times I didnlt feel good enough as a mother is was te time during and after a visit from our health visitor.

Her issues were -

Mixed feeding. I should either exclusively breastfeed or exclusively formular feed. WHAT???? Surely 90% breastfeeding is as good as no breastfeeding at all?!?!?!!

Weening - why must my 7 month old eat 2 weeabix insead of one for breakfast after a big booby feed?!?!?! "You don;t want an nderweigh baby" Worried me for days. DD was bordering on plump!!!

Our house wasn;t baby proof. When DD was 3 weeks old!!!! How the hell is my 3 week old going reach the feckin drawers!!! Let alone work out how to open the front door!!!

The lounge was too tidy (we dumoed everyhting in the bedroom.....) was I spending enough quality time with my baby?!?!? WHATATTATATTAT?!!?

I think more training in giving advice in a postive way.

Some of the comments on here are utterly disgraceful and would appear to be written by creatures with all the insight of a licked stamp.

Thank you to the HV's on here for fighting your corner. It is something I've pondered doing myself, if any of you are about, I wouldn't mind asking you a few questions off-thread

Some of the comments on here are utterly disgraceful and would appear to be written by creatures with all the insight of a licked stamp.

Thank you to the HV's on here for fighting your corner. It is something I've pondered doing myself, if any of you are about, I wouldn't mind asking you a few questions off-thread

Jaffacake2, I'd say you need to speak to your union rep about your overstretched workload, but also to your line manager. Your union rep can take it forward to the national level within the union - it's obviously a national problem, and the union should be on to it; your manager can rationalise your workload, if necessary with the help of the union rep. You should also have some kind of supervision (ie personal support), surely, as social workers do.

Presumably you can also lobby within the Health Visitors' Association and within the NHS, if you can find the time and energy, since you are being asked to take on an unrealistic workload. Or just leave it to the union.

It's undoubtedly in the national interest to get this sorted out. What are the commissioners of the NHS asking you to cover? If the govt is really going to recruit another 4000 HVs, then they need to be clear about the job spec.

HVs will never take the place of the support offered by the extended family unit that used to exist. Many new mums have no support nearby, by support I mean other, more experienced mothers, their own mothers and grandparents. I never had the need to ask the HV about breastfeeding, weaning etc because I had my own mother around. If that support was there places like MN wouldn't thrive the way they do. IME HVs are having to take up the slack.

There is a massive need in the community for well-trained HV (in my community anyway). I see children coming into nursery who aren't toilet trained because the parent doesn't know where to start (and in some cases can't be bothered and expect to hand that responsibility to school), who have no idea how to use a knife and fork because they never eat at the table. It seems that HVs are expected to teach folk how to be parents when that isn't their remit. It's not surprising they are overworked.

jaffa (and other HVs) keep doing what you're doing. Thankless task as it seems to be.

Oh dear - I know I said 'twats' but obviously not ALL of them are like that! But in my experience, many do NOTHING to encourage breastfeeding (this is just one thing I have noticed so focusing on that here) and so many ladies I know have given up when they could have gone on with more encouragement than 'Oh just give them formula'

theres no point to them imo.

I think it depends on the HVs personality - with DD1 I had a wonderful HV who spotted early signs of PND, helped me breastfed (and I had literally every problem) and kept telling me not to worry that my baby refused to gain weight. She use to refuse to weigh DD1 as she said it was just feeding my aniexty and anyone looking at the baby could see she was fine. She was also very supportive of me deciding not to introduce solids until 10 months agaisnt doctors advice. So she was very much needed and useful.
However, my current HV for DD2 reported me to SS for 'mishandling and abandonment'. Luckily SS didn't get involved as it turned out the mishandling was because I use slings and she wasn't happy with the way I put the toddler in a sling and the abandonment was when I left the baby asleep in the pram unattended in the corridor of a children's centre with controlled entry and exit for 5 mins! At my toddlers 2 year health check she added that she hoped 'he' meaning my DD2 (could at least of got the gender right!) at 8 months was fully weaned, sleeping through the night and on formula. I smiled through gritted teeth as the correct answer is no to all :-) Thankfully I won't see her now until DD2s 2 year health check.

a good one is priceless. a crap one is useless. i think the role is an important one, for breastfeeding in particular.

i do think if people shadowed a hv,saw their caseload,statutory meetings,planning and paperwork,the amount of support hv offer for mums,babies and families they see

i am not supporting or endorsing poor practice or bad practitioners at all.in fact people shouldnt put up with it

but this collective kicking amd pilloring of a professional group who are trained to degree and post grad level and earn sweet fa is nasty

i have had poor patient experience,and yes it was awful at a vulnerable time to experience poor rapportment,judge in a clinician

i dont however assume that all hv or all clinicians are inadequate or ponder what is the point of doctor/ot/nurse

I really couldn't tell you. Last time I saw one DS was 3 weeks old, and they never ever came back, write or phone. My DS is now 2, and I have heard in MN that they do a 2 year assessment, but they have yet to contact me for that.

To be honest, it'd be nice if they took some interest.

I don't really see the point in them. If they are for mums who aren't coping or families known to social work then surely they should be rebranded and absorbed by social work. They always seem to be a bit of a waste of tax payers money to me.

They waste my time when I have very little to waste. I always seem to be more current than them in my knowledge re weaning or whatever.

They have actually tried to put me off breastfeeding despite me telling them I really enjoyed it and had no issues with it, and wanted me to feed buttered toast to my 3 month year old cos she might need a bit more - she was massive and exclusively bf'ing?!?!.

I have to put my day on hold to walk to a dodgy area in the rain to be asked whether I have anything I am worried about - yes, the fact that I've now got to negotiate several pit bulls along with the methadone/junky owners to get me and my small children out of this clinic safely.

Perhaps they could change their names and join a social work team and just target mums or families who are not coping.

I neither need, want or appreciate their "help".

Oh - I just remembered - I did shadow a HV, totally forgot about that - it was another life - yeah, she was a real snot, really thought the clients/patients were below her. I am sure she arranged appointments at times she knew would be inconvenient as she spent nearly the whole 4 weeks missing appointments and meeting up with her other blue car buddies for tea and coffee.

Despite having 5 kids, have over a period of 3 years seen more wild pine martins than health visitors, pretty sure that makes them an endangered species...

if you going to do something do it properly.
i mean, give the hv a workload they can actually cope with and proper trainning, so they can be of some help when they come to mums. it doesn't do any good to any one that the hv crosses me because she told me 5 times that my 5 month old was ready to wean a month ago because he is in the 75 per centile ( this was the first time she saw him ever), i am not stupid, i am aware that he is big, and tall, not fat, he sleeps through the night and can hold his head, but i heard 250 times during pregnancy that that doesn't mean his gut is developed, i am sticking to the advice of waiting till 6 months and he is healthy and happy, someone tell what it is supposed that i am doing so wrong that i need a told off. i am far more likely to go to the head nurse in my surgery, she is understanding and sympathetic, she doesn't lecture me or lie to me, and if she doesn't know something finds someone who will, and she has an enormous workload and does 250 hours a week and is so stressed with all the changes in the nhs, and helps a lot of people too, i don't think she is better qualify than an hv, but i know she will be understanding and helpful... sometimes, just being nice, helps...

as with all professionals in any field there are good ones and bad ones....

and not everyone needs an HV, some people have family/ friends/ read books etc and are able to find things out for themselves but to some people the HV may be all they have and are a valuable source of information....

i have had mixed experience with HVs but when I was losing the will to live with DD2 who had reflux and at 7 months was still not sleeping more than 1.5 hour stretches my HV started calling me every day and popping in just to check i wasn't cracking up and i truly appreciated it.

My Mother was an HV for many years in Luton - long time ago now - and for those who need support and information they can be a lifeline. Most Mumsnetters will not really need them in this information age but please be wary of extrapolating from this that they are no longer needed! Many Mums are classified as 'elderly primagravidas' (i.e. over 26 when they have their first baby) and it is vital that developmental delay which is more common in late babies - e.g not smiling at 6 weeks and not finding the hands and feet whenever it is - are spotted as early intervention is vital.
Bit alarming that an HV should be a damper on natural feeding tho' - it is a moveable feast in more ways than one!
Do call an HV if you need one but perhaps ask around to find out who to avoid!
Best wishes all

you are quite right all4u, but honestly, elderly at 26?, when are you meant to get pregnant at 16?, also in many local authorities you don't get a choice of hv to pick up from, you get one, mine is lovely would go with her for coffee, sadly she is a bit clueless in important stuff, then you go to the clinics and you get who you get... i do tell them when i think they are wrong or innapropiate, hopefully they will think twice for the next mum.