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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Bounty women on maternity wards

157 replies

FasterThanASnakeAndAMongoose · 30/08/2016 22:04

I know this has been done before, but ho hum.

AIBU to say that marketing companies have no place on maternity wards?

After giving birth to my babies I was exhausted and vulnerable. It was a massive invasion of privacy for the Bounty women to barge in trying to harvest my details before my own parents had even met their dgc. They were waiting downstairs for visiting to start.

Hospital should be a sanctuary. Women on postnatal wards aren't necessarily ill, but I've never felt more ill in my life. On no other ward would it be acceptable for a marketing company to prey on patients, so why is it still ok on maternity?

Gives me the rage Angry

OP posts:
Happyhippy45 · 30/08/2016 22:55

Nowadays when everyone has a camera phone and can take their own photos of their new baby it's a complete intrusion.
20 years ago I was happy to have someone take some photos....and happy to pay for them.......and happy for the freebies.

JellyBelli · 30/08/2016 22:56

Maybe make up a big No Bounty sign and stick it up on your bed...

Original poster
FasterThanASnakeAndAMongoose · 30/08/2016 22:57

I got the pack when dc1 was born. IIRC it contained a tiny pot of sudacrem, a tube of 0-2 Colgate small enough to constitute a choking hazard, a solitary wet wipe in its own little package and a bazillion or so leaflets.

OP posts:
strawberrypenguin · 30/08/2016 22:58

My local hospital must have done away with them. With my oldest DH took the pack from her and didn't let her in my room. But I didn't see one in May when I had my second and I was in all day before we were discharged

ukulelelady · 30/08/2016 23:00

I was in a special ward due to high blood pressure, the other mums and babies there had problems too but still she came to see us. My DS had terrible baby acne and i told her I'd rather wait until his skin cleared up before I paid for professional photographers. "Oh don't worry, said the bounty lady, we can photoshop that". Needless to say she didn't get the chance to.

Original poster
FasterThanASnakeAndAMongoose · 30/08/2016 23:01

Gobsmacked ukulelelady - think I'd have punched her in the face at that point!

OP posts:
ColdTeaAgain · 30/08/2016 23:02

Yes! The stupid mini pots of sudocrem, can't even get the stuff out without digging it out with your finger nail. Put me off the stuff completely so that was great marketing there!

I think the only thing I found useful was the free pack of waterwipes and samples of non bio. Hardly worth handing over your personal information for!

VioletBam · 30/08/2016 23:03

Is it my imagination or do they carry forms for things like child benefit? I distinctly remember one of these Bounty Bastards saying to me that "You'll need to fill it in though or you won't get your child benefit form!"

Which is bullshit and luckily I knew it was bullshit!

TwoLittleBlooms · 30/08/2016 23:06

I thought they must have stopped the Bounty. I vaguely remember one coming round when I had my dd1 but that was nearly 14 years ago and was quite ill. I was in hospital on a ward for a few days. I had my second child last year and never got a visit but this time I was in a side room on the ward and was only in there from about 7am until 10pm and we went home. Maybe they only come onto the shared wards?

blinkowl · 30/08/2016 23:08

Ah sorry I thought this was a fill-in-the-missing-words thing.

"Bounty women on maternity wards ... "

I was going to offer "... can fuck right off".

I totally agree it's a massive invasion of privacy.

dannydyerismydad · 30/08/2016 23:08

Our local hospital has hired a load of extra Bounty ladies. They are very excited to have 2 on duty at all times so no one misses out.

It makes me cringe seeing them all smoking outside the maternity unit before they go on.

greathat · 30/08/2016 23:09

I recall being told by the bounty woman that the photos they took were for identifying the babies if there were any problems. I can't remember what I said but no photos were taken. Never saw one with second child as I was discharged straight from labour ward

Original poster
FasterThanASnakeAndAMongoose · 30/08/2016 23:12

You should take a photo of them smoking and post it on their twitter feed!

How disgusting - just want you really don't want around your newborn - not just a bounty lady, but one who still smells from her cigarette break Hmm

OP posts:
AGenie · 30/08/2016 23:15

I didn't have any of this, but I did get a call on my mobile phone from the Virgin Internet engineer who was standing outside our house door while I was being wheeled down to the post-natal ward. It was weird how smartly I turned on the 'normal' voice act to deal with him even though I'd been awake for days and was a mess. I think maybe the post-natal ward is some kind of parallel universe.

Sorry to hear about the Bounty people. They sound very strange indeed.

peaceloveandshitmoms · 30/08/2016 23:18

AGenie that reminds me of when I had DS, was taken to the post-natal ward in the evening and suddenly remembered that our Christmas food shopping was being delivered the following day!

BertieBotts · 30/08/2016 23:20

One wet wipe Confused

whywonthedgehogssharethehedge · 30/08/2016 23:24

I've never seen one in the hospital I had my kids in. They just gave us the packs chucked on a shelf with some nappies and maternity towels under the goldfish bowl cot in labour ward.

It absolutely should be banned.

Sparklemummyx0x0x · 30/08/2016 23:29

I had the bounty lady come when DS was less than a day old. Just waltzed into my room without knocking. This was 6yrs ago. As he was the first baby in my close family/friend circle, I didn't have any warning or knowledge of this.

She didn't let me make him look decent,as in put him in a nice position or nice babygrow. He'd just been sick and took a pic of his face only. There was no talk of paying there and then. They sent a load of pics in the post a few weeks later. Well he looked bloody awful. There was a strict timeline to either accept them and pay or send every one back. I got the crappy bag though with the tiny sudocrem pot and dozens of leaflets.

Idliketobeabutterfly · 30/08/2016 23:32

I was rude to the one who came in my ward. To be honest she pissed me off as my curtain was closed and I wanted it to stay like that. I scared her off lol

Idliketobeabutterfly · 30/08/2016 23:34

Oh and as bean looked like golum I had no pics taken.

tootsroots · 30/08/2016 23:38

Totally agree. I asked one to leave me in peace as I wanted to feed the baby .. She left and the next day another came by and pestered twice so I gave false details abd pointed to the flashy slr I was holding and said no thank you . She then loudly pestered the other mums afterwards - all out of visiting hours.

ollieplimsoles · 30/08/2016 23:49

I agree with everyone else it is a big intrusion.

Mine asked my newborn dd's name and when I gave it she said it was 'spoiled by the surname'
She then loudly and roughly took my precious baby and took loads of crap photos of her while she slept.
We were so shocked at the prices if it all too.

What really gets me about bounty though, is the information contained in their emails about baby development. They sent me a 'your baby at 4 months' email, all about introducing solids! And the 8 month one sais 'most babies are eating three meals and two snacks a day' they really worried me, I unsubscribed in the end after they sent one out about the importance of follow on milk and my hv totally snubbed it.

Its all just a scam to make money

Rollyroo · 30/08/2016 23:55

Oh god. First baby is due in two months and I am DREADING encountering the bounty woman after reading this. I can't believe how rude and intrusive they are! If i put in my notes that I don't want to be disturbed by them, can that actually be enforced by the hospital or can i expect a nosy cow to come intruding anyway?

BlondishBear · 30/08/2016 23:58

The lady with us was alright. Gave the pack and an extra leaflet for photos saying she'd be around if we wanted them, took address from dh and left. Had a voucher for a second pack in the post with baby food, toothpaste and vitamins in when ds was 6 months old. Didnt really mind seeing her coz had to wait ages for ds to see the consultant. Also got visited by the hospital chaplain and chatted for a bit. There were loads of babies born the same day so everything took ages so this was about 30 hrs post birth. MW who delivered DS was looking after 4 of us in labour at 1s poor thing

Middleoftheroad · 31/08/2016 00:03

Ten years ago when I had twins and was out of it and in shock with two newborns, I had no idea who they were and felt pushed to have pics taken, that it was the done thing.

Even though they were just hours old I remember saying that the pic they had taken "didn't look like them" they were in odd poses etc. To this day I look at the pic and it still doesn't look like either of them - but I thought it was compulsory to have these pics taken at the time.