To think that health visitors are undervalued

[Reallytired]

I have been lucky that I have had good health visitors with both my children. The health visitor I had with my son was good and the health visitor that I have for my daughter is truely gifted at her job.

In the past there were far more health visitors. In our area many of the health visitors have been replaced with nursery nurses and to pay for surestart. Many of the activites at our local surestart centre are frills. Baby yoga is not essential to bringing up a healthy child. Many of the activites are difficult to access for second time mums.

In the past health visitors had time to work with women with postnatal depression or parenting problems. A mother struggling with the terrible twos may well have depression. a nursery nurse does not have the skills to pick this up.

My HV is quite competent and pleasant, but I don't see the point in some ways.. I had midwife support for a month through bfing etc, and I have to go to baby clinic for weighing (where they are totally irritating and useless). She's given me some tips on using olive oil for cradle cap/advising me not to bath him until 8 weeks/tips on care for his umbilical granuloma.. however, I - like lots of middle-class, professional mums - knew nearly everything she told me already from browsing relevant sites on the internet/books.

Tory policy is to increase HV visits and have a 'schedule' of a minimum amount for all in tandem with reducing Children's Centre access for all but 'the most needy' but I would be fundamentally opposed to this. For a start, offering a standard HV service to all misses out on the blatant truth that some women need a lot more support from their HV than others (for a variety of reasons) and making Children's Centre services only available to 'the most needy' stigmatises those services.

Baby Yoga is not 'essential' but activities like this are good for getting otherwise isolated women - regardless of class - out of the house and, I'll wager, have the potential to reduce PND symptoms. I am attending my local Children's Centre and there are women of very diverse backgrounds there - a great way for us all to learn from eachother, I think, and likely to be far more supportive than freaking out because a scary professional is coming to weigh your baby and ask you invasive questions about whether or not you have resumed your sex life at six weeks!

Spot on MrsBean.

I was encouraged to go to the local baby massage at Surestart by my GP/HV when I was suffering from PND.

It was brilliant tbh, I did feel totally isolated and lost and I rarely left the house. It gave me an opportunity to get out of the house and meet and talk to other mums.

It was such a relief to find be around other women in a similar situation as me, talking about our babies, our concerns and finding out I really wasn't that different to the other new mums.

It also gave me a fantastic opportunity to spend lovely touchy feely time with my son, which I desperately needed as I had struggled to bond with him after an ECS and time on SCBU.

When I look back now, I'm not sure how I would have managed without it.

I'm not sure where else I would have gotten that support if it wasn't for Surestart.

Mrsbean, when my children were babies, those kind of classes were run at the health clinic by the health visitors, so I don't think it has to be an either/or situation. The health visitor rarely came to my house, but I could talk to them as part of the new mum's classes. This allows you to meet other parents but also gives you informal access to a health visitor.

New mums' classes even!

Mine seemed lovely but told me off for not having ds in my room, then could not explain/prove why I should. Rang me a few times to confirm that she couldn't explain it. Bless her.

My HV has supported me from when we moved new to the area, late PND, DD severe sleep problems at 18months - 2 years old, the loss of our DD2, the pregnancy of DS1, his awful illnesses, sleep patterns and reflux and so on.....She is always full of support and ideas and really seems to take a genuine interest in our family as a whole.

Think i'd have seriously lost the plot years ago had it not been for her support and advice. Never judgemental either....she occassionally mentions that she's getting too old for the job and fed up of the changes they face...I think she'll be a huge loss to our community when she does leave the profession...

The health visitor that was allocated to ds seemed competent and was also approachable which is obviously a good thing. In 5 years I have only had reason to call her once, if ds was ill I went to the GP. If I'm honest I'm not really sure what their role is supposed to entail.

My first HV was awful, though I didn't realise at the time, I was only 21 when I had my baby and naively thought that everything the HV said was gospel. I took my DD to be weighed at 10 weeks and she had lost 3 ounces. The HV gave me a good telling off for not realising and said I couldn't possibly be feeding her properly and I must go home and give her formula immediately. I ran out of there in floods of tears and did exactly as she said. I never even attempted to breastfeed again after that

Second HV after we moved was quite nice but very old fashioned. Our first conversation went something like this:

HV: So you've just moved to the area?
Me: Yes
HV: Is that because of your DH's work?
Me: No, I'm not married
HV: Your DP then?
Me: No I'm a SP
HV: So you moved here with your family then
Me: Nope, just me and DD
HV: Just you? By yourself? Are you sure you can cope all on your own?
Me: Um, I don't think I have much choice!

We moved again when DD was about 15 months and we have never been assigned a new HV so there haven't been any 2 year checks or anything like that, thank God.

YABU. J's health visitors were always shite: patronising (cos I was young), dangerous (recommending cold medicine that he was way too young for), absent (came to one appointment at 2 years, pronounced J's speech was so poor he might need speech therapy but never came back or returned calls) and ignorant (missed J's autism signs, which I did too, but I'm not trained!).

So maybe that's why they're undervalued - I think it's the luck of the draw, but more people I know have had bad experiences than good.

The problem here is not so much that they're undervalued, more completely impossible to find. All HV run classes were withdrawn when DD was born. The drop-in clinic at our health centre was withdrawn when DD was 5 months old. The appointment-based clinic (which was a well guarded secret) is being withdrawn. I am in Scotland so we don't have any Sure Start centres. There was a well publicised tragedy here about a year ago so all the HVs are focussed on child protection. At least this means I have never been subjected to any of the crazy advice that other MNers seem to have received, but it would be nice to feel that there was a RL person that I had some contact with.

I am shocked to discover on this thread that HV's are qualified nurses - my contact with 2 HV's was truly a terrible experience. Have spoken to one on to it one at the baby weigh in - but some have been so awful that U shudder thinking about them.

My baby was dropping weight fast - not only did they (Hv's) not offer any constructive advice, they were very put out when I said I was taking my baby back to the hospital or to my doctor.

I39 the picking on the most vulnerable happens at my clinic - I see them dishing out poor advice especially to those who look like they need help - it is so awful to watch.

I've not come across a bad one - maybe some whose personalities were a bit too brusque, but whenever I've been to clinic, they take the time to tell people that their lo is lovely, and they are doing a good job.
Also, my particular hv supported me through pnd, did at least 8 home visits as she is trained in cbt,and I couldn't have got through it without her.
I don't envy their job. It seems to me that they have to cope with paperwork, constant changes from government, always be thinking about child protection and having to cover their own backs, and probably not spending as much time doing the part of the job they love anyway. All for very little money. Good on them.

I am always fascinated to see on these threads the number of people referring to "my health visitor". We don't get anyone "allocated" to us aruond here and have very little contact. It's amazing how much these services differ around teh country.

For instance people saying that their HV spotted there was something wrong with their child - wouldn't happen round here as HV don't really see the children. Unless you take them along specifically and then you won't see the same person, or anyone who knows you or anything like that.

My HV was brilliant. She wrote to us when I was pregnant to arrange to visit and introduce herself and explain the service. She was very big on 'we're not here to tell you what to do, you're the parents, we're just here with support if you need it'. She was always really pro breastfeeding and always told me what a wonderful job I was doing (which was brilliant to hear as DS was a real struggle to feed at first). She would always just leave me so much more confident in my mothering ability and so much more positive about being a mum!

After a few months, we're expected to go to the clinics to have him weighed, but they're on the days that I work. So she's quite happy to make special appointments to come out and see him if I do ever want him weighing, on my days off.

Ooh, and I remember she was always very big on making sure I wasn't trying to do too much: "don't think about housework, don't try and get dressed and smart too soon after the birth, it's fine if you're in PJs when I come round, don't let people make you do too much, you're a mum!"

I took DD1 to a baby clinic to be weighed and to ask for advice re. oral thrush.

When I stripped DD1 off for the weighing with the nursery nurse she was absolutely fine.

When I stripped her off for the HV to check if she had thrush nappy rash as well as oral thrush she had purpura rash all over her legs (the menegitis/septicaemia rash ).

I said that it hadn't been there a minute ago and she seemed unconcerned by it and more worried about the thrush.

I got on the bus outside the Children Centre and went straight to the hospital.

It was the menegitis rash BUT it was in response to a common or garden virus not menegitis. However even the Drs were very worried by it until they ascertained it wasn't menegitis.

Some babies have this reaction to every virus they come in contact with until their immune system grows out of such a disproportionate response. DD2 and DD3 to a lesser extent have had this. However how was the HV to know that this was the case as if it had been menegitis/septicaemia she could have been dead with in hours.

imhe I don't really see the point of them tbh.