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?

Regarding MN involvement, it might be a bit of an ask. Bounty are effectively a rival company in many respects and it could look petty at best and highly unpleasant and unprofessional at worst. Much as I respect and support the campaigns that MN do run, I'm not sure this is one they can be expected to champion.

I'm going to reserve judgement until I see what the Bounty mob have in store for me on my post-natal ward next month and if I have a bad experience I'd be happy to put in a complaint under my own steam. I'd also be happy to sign a petition arranged by MNers even if not officially MNHQ-endorsed.

Hadn't thought of the competition issue Sockspence.

I agree it's pressure on hormone, tired and elated new mums... many pushy salespeople can imply that refusing means you are bad parent, don't love baby etc.

A friend recently sent a link to a professional baby pic taken on day of birth in hospital, and while the photo was adorable, I was slightly bemused/surprised you could also see all the other babies photographed on that day, all in same blanket and hat - might have been hospital issue, but made it look bit production line etc.

I'd support a campaign too after experiencing the "what, no baby?" interrogation not once but twice as I'm lucky enough to have had 2 premature babies.

Some of the stories on here are

Sock if MN said that they know that every woman who had ever been on the recieving end of Bounty's "attentions" would be very angry. Rival or not they are acting in a very irresponsible way and that trumps "petty".

Distressing women who have JUST been bereaved or seriously traumatized is FAR from petty.

I'm not saying the examples given aren't despicable, of course they are. They've made me furious. I'm just saying that I'd understand if it might be a leeetle close to the knuckle for MN to start an official campaign against a business competitor. I'm not saying that they wouldn't want to.

If MN are a competitor do they collect our personal data and sell it too then?

I gave birth three weeks ago and was really shocked when the bounty woman burst in when I was trying to breast feed DD. I'd only just been stitched up and had needed drugs for that so was still a little out of it and I was so confused when she pulled back my privacy curtain. Luckily I was in a private room and not on a ward otherwise I would have been mortified (I'm very body shy).
It annoyed me that my parents weren't allowed to see the baby but a perfect stranger was.

Pesto, No they don't sell on data.

MN privacy policy is here:
www.mumsnet.com/info/privacy-policy

Its pretty transparent, clear and no nasty subsections, paragraphs or references to point 176h (unlike Bounty).

MN and Bounty both are for parents and have forums. Beyond that they are very different organisations and get revenue from very different methods.

If a criminal activity is going on, then I would say that would be a very fair reason to take on a 'competitor' anyway. Its not exactly a dirty trick. In fact its trying to get rid of dirty tricks. Its about trying to look after your users interests rather than your commercial interests first.

I picked this name a while before seeing this thread, but you can guess my views:

DC1 - was really in a bad way, could barely move (cather, drip etc). very frightened and badly neglected on ward... suddenly this woman appears and says brightly "Time for baby's star turn!" and wheels my baby off out of the curtains to god knows where... I sat there wondering whether some nutter had just nicked my baby. The photos were awful and I received a bill once home, the letter I unleashed on them was very cathartic.

DC2 - (many years later, different town, different maternity ward) - again in a bad way, but wiser and more confident with it. A woman appeared and AGAIN said something like "It's time for baby's photo!" (again, no explanation, no "would you like?" or "can I interest you in?" - just stated as though it was a done deal.) I said politely, "No, thank you." The woman said, "But it's part of the package." I said, "What package?" She held up a pack and said, "You need to have the photo done to get THIS." I said, "I don't need any free samples, thank you." She said, "No, you have to have it done so that I can release the paperwork to you." I said again, very calmly and politely (was in the baby bliss happy place so not at all cross) "No thank you, I know that I can get the forms I need elsewhere." At which she tutted and literally flounced out of my cubicle.

And I smiled a very happy smile :)

What a couple of bitches, BountyCack. So glad you were with it to send the second one packing.

I got angry all over again thinking about the one I had to deal with, even though it was 2 years ago. I was so unhappy in there with my DS in special care and me with fucked up liver function. She would barge into my room every morning and act disappointed that I was still there. She caught me expressing one time - just knocked and opened, didn't wait for me to say 'come in'. I think in the end I told her I was going to be there for a while so she shouldn't bother coming back, but the damn rudness of her - "Oh, are you STILL here?" - you know. Cow. She made an unpleasant experience that bit worse.

hi ppl

Im am really shocked at comments here, i actually worked for bounty last year and everyone seemed to enjoy getting pack - mind you i did no photography. although used them when i had my 5 children.

I want to explain, Bounty staff are supposed to be sensitive to people, i usualy asked if it was ok to see them.

i suppose some people can be pushy because if they dont get an address they do not get paid any money. they are paid commission only based on new mum packs given out, if they dont get details then it classed as data wasteage. They should not be pushy, but you can understand why. they also get penalised if they dont reach targets and the targets are 90% of mums are to be seen and details colected. imagine how hard this is if many mums are leaving within a few hours.

i am sorry for all the negative feedback, i loved the job, because i loved to be around babies, and am actually thinking of apply to a different post that fits in with my kids better, but now i aint so sure!

The child benifit form is important, and easier to get there and then but you can get it after.
another point is they have cards that you can fill your details out in, if you dont feel up to speaking why not say look can you leave me a card, you can then either leave it for them to collect or post later. they get paid when these are collected too.

and NO-ONES sleep should be disturbed.

The child benefit form is so important that I am aghast that it has to be wrangled from the hands of salespeople.

In fact, your full explanation of how Bounty work is somewhat eye-opening, p7nny. I'm absolutely astonished at their expectation of getting 90% of mothers signed up to something they don't need and if this is the target rate then it is hardly surprising that the techniques used by the salespeople are questionable (and that's putting it kindly).

My conscience would not allow me to take on this sort of work and I'd be interested to know what the turnover rate of Bounty personnel is.

What I said to the Bounty lady when she woke me up after a sleepless night with my newborn dd.....'No thank you, she's sleeping, and I don't want to wake her.'

What I wanted to say to the Bounty lady when she woke me up after a sleepless night with my newborn dd.....**!!!!!!!!!

I HATE Bounty ladies.

They are on commission?! That's even worse as they will not stop these tactics due to money.

I agree the child benefit form is important and easier to get "there and then", so it should come from a midwife, not a sales person .

The way you explain the targets makes perfect sense. They have to get the details of 90% of mums or they are personally penalised. This is hard enough because of rapid discharges. So they need to be bloody persistent to get to 90% with those patients that are there. No surprise at all that it leads to what has been described on this thread.

Why do hospitals allow this?!

"child benefit form is important and easier to get "there and then", so it should come from a midwife, not a sales person"

Or a health visitor, since they already bring lots of leaflets etc. anyway

This is down to the maternity units to take control. I was on the antenatal ward (for weeks) of my local NHS hospital and saw Bounty about three times despite them apparently only being supposed to see post natal women. I transferred to a private unit for delivery, and afterwards the only contact Bounty were allowed was to push a pack through the door without going in, and leave. Quite right too.
In what way does it benefit the maternity units to have Bounty there? Do they take a bung?

I found them very intrusive both times. First time I was in hdu and shaking all over from the horrible drugs I had in labour (mag sulfate). She just didn't have any sensitivity to read that I was in a bad way trying to get over trauma and bond w baby. The second time the lady was so fat she couldn't move around the room - she brought an assistant too, then dh and ds turned up and I was suffocating. Yadnbu, ime

"they also get penalised if they dont reach targets and the targets are 90% of mums are to be seen and details colected."

That is absolutely disgusting.

I didn't get any hassle from Bounty ladies or photographers when having any of my 3. I was given a Bounty pack each time but wasn't told I had to give information to get the child benefit form. Each time a photographer approached me politely and asked me if I wanted pics done and I said 'no thanks' and that was it, no problems.

Some of the stories on here are awful, looks like I struck it lucky with our local hospital.

I haven't even had my DC yet and have already found the pervasive presence of Bounty in clinical facilities to be quite bizarre and inapporopriate.
The receptionist in our sonography department reminded us to take a pack and fill in the card and 'pop it in the box' on her desk right after our first scan. I am very averse to dishing out my details without good reason and didn't do it, but not without first having to really scrutinise what it actually was, because I couldn't believe a hard pressed NHS staff member would be spending time advocating a purely commercial enterprise, especially mere moments after an important and stressful appointment.

I quite agree that it's a scandal to put CB forms in Bounty Packs, and, on a similar note, I really disapprove of important NHS advice, e.g. on antenatal screening, being bunged into the earlier packs with a pile of Babies'r'Us leaflets.

I sincerely hope i will be in a fit state to go nuts if one of these people broaches my privacy when I've given birth. I've been a gynae inpatient before, and it would be unimaginable to have something like this going on in the ward. That new mothers are somehow considered 'fair game' speaks volumes about the lack of real respect there is for the complex physical and emotional circumstances many women experience throughout pregnancy, birth, and afterwards.

When I was in hospital, the bounty ladies were perfectly courteous. They sailed by, gave me a couple of bags, and breezily inquired about photos.

I said no; they said, okay then.

Unfortunately, I'm in the minority, going by this thread.