to think that a Bounty photo salesperson has no place on a post natal ward?

[Boboli]

Is this the norm nationwide? At our hospital, one of the first people you'll see after you've given birth is a photographer from Bounty who will give you a sales pitch for photos of your newborn. The photos are not cheap and I find it pretty incredible that mums are approached hours after given birth when they are likely not quite in the state of mind to decide on pricy photo packages.

My SIL had the pleasure of this Bounty lady an hour after reaching the post natal ward in the morning having been in labour all night. She had to specifically insist that she did not want her baby woken and photographed.

When had DD1, no-one except birth partners were allowed on the wards because of the swine flu outbreak yet the Bounty lady made it through. In other words, she was allowed to my bedside but my mum wasn't. This can't be right, can it?

YANBU. I haven't the words for these people, and I'm not gonna start, I've been doing housework and now I have and WILL relax. However I will say had I not had a very sore cunt I probably could have kicked the woman's camera through her false smile and sales pitch.

blame the hospitals who let them in.

I would imagine Bounty pays them for access to you all. Nobody can just amble around a post natal ward! They are there with permission.

The hospital should put patient care first and recognise that this is inappropriate.

I also remember being woken up by the Bounty Lady following a very long and traumatic labour, despite a notice on my dour asking not to be disturbed.

I was desperate for some sleep but just couldn't relax as was convinced she would let herself back in again

Looking back, how bloody dare they?

Applauds JustHecate Do I feel a MN campaign coming on?

Yanbu.

I'm not sure why the people how run hospitals think it is ok to allow people to hard sell to emotionally/ physically vunerable people.

and the photos she tried to sell me were shit

YABU, they are not all pushy. I used them with both my babies, I liked having instant passport sized photos to send out to people and the bounty pictures were both my dc's first passport photos.

You can say no.

They shouldn't be waking people up though, and I would blame the midwives for allowing that.

Actually, I had forgotten about that! That IS a weird thing for hospitals to allow. I had a similar experience to you Betty

YANBU

If you google ''freedom of information request and bounty'' you will garner a heap of info.

read this

guardian article from last year

I'm with you Betty - looking back, how dare they? I wish I'd said something at the time but everything is such a haze after all the excitement of the labour. I was only reminded about it because of my SIL's recent experience.

Plus, in my post labour glow, I did buy the photos for DD1 - they look nothing like her and have been at the back of a draw since. What a con!

Yanbu. She was intrusive,pestering & a pita. I was too exhausted to even know who she was. None of the staff had uniforms,so I always thought she was another person to teach me to bf.
When I was in hospital a week later (different hospital) without my baby,she walked & said 'oh where's your baby gone?' She said every bloody day for a week.
Can you imagine if I had had a still birth or a baby in scu? I felt shit enough that I was alone a week after having ds & hearing all the tiny babies. I wanted to bloody kill her.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience LunaticFringe .

I'm on the fence on this one. I'd not touch it with a bargepole but my neighbour is the Bounty woman and I was surprised to learn that the pictures thing is actually pretty popular. She is generally kind and lovely though and I don't think she does a 'sales pitch' as such. I think she just went for the job because she loves babies!

Fwiw I don't remember being hassled by them when I had both DSs. I think I looked so dreadful I must have scared them a bit.

Yanbu op, it's Inappropriate IMO.

I had one open up qthe curtains I had drawn around my bed when I was changing. She came back later and did te same when I was trying to bf during visiting hour. They are a complete pita and prey on people at a very vulnerable time.

Is this still going on!! I was pissed off about it 13 years ago. Mind you I'm not surprised, hospitals will do almost anything to raise cash - esp. the ones who are hocked up to the eyeballs thanks to PFI. Think the ripoff bedside phones, tvs and don't even start me on carpark charges.

YANBU about them being allowed into the delivery suite - ??! - but I do like the goody bags :) I did get snarky with a man who called me up and tried to send me 'free' Disney books though. He was shocked and appalled that I would deny 8wo DS books so I told him that DS had plenty of books and that I didn't allow anything of poor quality into my house :o

I have to say that the Bounty lady was the only member of 'staff' to ask me if I was alright when I was in floods of tears having been up all night trying to express for DS.

I Hated the whole experience of being on the ward, the bounty woman being one of the worst bits, she took pictures of ds, who kept crying, I said just leave it I will take my own, she said 'ok you won't want these any way, he doesn't look very cute!' he wasn't just cute he was my utterly gorgeous pfb, the bitch!

I politely refused, the bounty woman looked like I'd smacked her in the face she was so shocked!

The bounty woman burst into my room unannounced. DD a couple of hours old, terrible forceps marks. Didn't give to time to do anything with her before she snapped away. Then hounded me for weeks.

YANBU, in retroscept I was a bit about the fact she was allowed free access to a captive audience of dazed and confused new mums!! It wouldn't have been so bad if the picture we got of DS wasn't a) expensive and b) utterly crap we took loads of better ones with my cheap digital camera and they were free!!

Just read the Guardian article. Although I'm not really a NCT type mother (I say get it out in the most medical way possible :o) I really agree with their campaign. I'm a sales person for a living, I pester company directors all day every day. I am ruthless. I will never lie but I will give the old hard sell.

I saw on the Guardian posts some of the Bounty reps defending themselves. I don't know how they dare. Give any new mother a picture of her new-born and she'll think it beautiful. The photographs are shoddy and poor quality. This really is taking advantage of women at one of the most emotional and scary times of their lives.

has anyone complained to the hospital about them being allowed to cruise the wards touting for business? what was the response?

Our bounty lady was lovely and took beautiful photos of ds3. It may be better if she was left in the day room and you could go to her if you wanted photos.

I hated it with DS1. She kept on coming back over and over because I had said no. She even tried to stop us leaving as he hadn't had his picture yet.

That's another reason my home birth with DS2 was so lovely.