To wonder why Health Visitors have drop in clinics, when they clearly don't want you to drop in?

[Kasterborous]

I took my 15 month old DD to the drop in clinic yesterday just for a bit of advice that I was giving her the right amount of food and milk, and to weigh her. All I got was 'well we don't usually weigh them at this age, you didn't need to come'. They did weigh her all be it begrudgingly. Yes maybe I am being a bit PFB, but I would hate to have to go if I had a big problem. It's not like I take her every week or even every month. They made me paranoid about her weight in the first place after she lost too much after she was born and was weighed regularly for a few weeks.

From now on I don't think I will bother and instead ask all the wise mumsnetters any questions/worries I have, at least people on here don't make me feel stupid and a crap over anxious mum.

Same here. Everytime I've asked questions and wanted some advice, it seemed to be an imposition. So now I just do what I think is best.

I always wonder why mine was called a Health Visitor as she was loathe to visit us and didn't give a flying fuck about mine or my baby's health.

But I was unlucky and I know lots of people who found their HVs incredibly supportive.

I was wondering about this the other day as I haven't had my 16 month old weighed for ages. I came to the conclusion that I should probably just get her to stand on the scales, or if she wouldn't stand still, weigh us both then subtract my weight.

But seeing as you were there for advise anyway there was no need for them to be snippy about it.

*advice

When DD was a baby she screamed endlessly for most of the day. I use the word 'screamed' advisedly - it wasn't a whinge but a full on yell which often caused her to sort of stop breathing until you blew on her face. As a not-very-well first time mum this was a bit distressing to say the least. My useless Health Visitor came round, held DD for a bit, said 'Oo, I've never seen one do that before' and left. I didn't see her for a fortnight. Helpful

when I had the most awful PND am amazing HV randomly appeared in my life. She was utterly overworked and really only had time to see very few mums on her list. I think the real problem is resources and perhaps you were being a little PFB when she knew there were so many others to see and you just wanted general advice and weigh in. No fault of yours but a sign of overstretchedness

I was actually very surprised at just how quickly we were seen, only waited about ten minutes, usually it's nearer an hour.

It always makes me a bit when I see these threads.

The HVs I have had for all three of my boys have been great.

I think HV's must really vary. The one that visited when DD was first home from hospital was useless, she didn't help at all. The one at the drop in clinic were I used to live was lovely. Since moving to this new area in January they just seem to treat me as a nuisance and make me feel like I shouldn't bother them at all. Yes it was only a minor issue I was asking about, and their response wasn't pleasant, but how do they know if someone maybe actually has a real problem but maybe skirts round the issue as they might be ashamed or embarrassed to ask about it? If they are made to feel like they are being a nuisance they would slip under the radar so to speak.

My hv never wanted to live up to her 'visitor' role either. I saw her to have dd weighed at 4 weeks, then never saw her again until 9mths (for dd's 8mth development check)

She would book us in for a certain day and time and turn up hours late, if not the next day. She never really cared much about mine and dd's health either and once had a go at me for eating an 'unhealthy and fatty' Crunchy.

I've never visited the drop in as my GP had a set of baby scales and told me if ever I was worried, to take dd to him to be weighed or to have a chat, so there are some nice health professionals out there, just not pointless health visitors!

I got of on the wrong foot with my hv when I had my first dc. She was "old school" and I was a young mum. When I had dc3 however I had PND. It was the hv who noticed. She saw me waiting to see a GP for something totally unrelated and when asked how I was I burst into tears! She came to see me that afternoon and was very pro active in getting me diagnosed, seen by a dr and treated. I was devastated when she left when I had dc4, and was replaced by a useless airy fairy type who thought she was some earth mother.

Mine was so useless I only saw her rwice and went once to the vile drop in clinic I was told I had to attend. The bit I've never understood is that I said I didn't want to attend the drop in more of a drop out clinic actually clinic and was told the hv wanted to see me. I said if she wanted to see me she could make an appointment - she said she wouldn't. End of really. Why would I drop in to see someone totally incompetent.

Mine suggested my 5 week old have an operation on the lining of his nose to stop him waking up so much due to snuffles at night!

Mine just talks a load of bollocks about the weight graph that she cannot explain to me.

I see our ever changing health visitors every week as I go to a group that runs at the same time. They're always happy to see me and dd and never mind if I want her weighed.

I hate our hv drop-in clinic. they treat you like you are stupid. I was delighted after DD2 had her bcg so I don't need to ever go back. They can come to me for the developmental reviews and otherwise DD1&2 can go to the GP and practice nurse for injections.

Mine's nice but I'm not really sure what she does. Not much from what I can see.

An obese HV at a drop in clinic told me that the rolls on my 4 week old exclusively breastfed baby's wrists indicated that he was obese. She couldn't understand it as I didn't look big so then asked about his dad!

I didn't go back ever again.