Is there such a thin as a baby well clinic in the UK after baby is born?

[Billy11]

I had my first baby in Dubai ...and durin theante natal classes I was introduced to the baby well clinic.
I bought a package for 16 weeks.
I took baby in weekly to be weighed and measured and the lovely midwife taught me step by step how to change feed times around to get baby sleeping through the night.
She also helped me feed baby and gas and the right formula...
It was a blessin and the lovey south african lady was a realy expert in her area...
I am wonderin if any of these clinics are common in the UK?
I have heard of health visitors etc....but it doesnt seem like a structured week by week developmental screenin of the baby ?

yes, its called having a health visitor. Health vistors have weekly clinics and do development reviews. You can go to baby clinic as often as you like until your child is 5 years old. Although in practice most people stop going when the baby is six months to a year old.

We have a number of weekly baby clinics where I live - the health visitor will weigh the baby, and measure his length and head circumference if asked.

It's also a good opportunity to raise any concerns about feeding / sleeping etc.

They are drop-in clinics though, so sometimes very busy and sometimes quiet. Health visitor will obviously have less time to chat if it's very busy.

But it's not a structured week by week developmental screening.

Might be worth looking at a post natal doula who can do more one on one care with you.

thanks ladies
yes i know i have done it before but each baby is different I suppose and will have different issues.
I did see a health visitor for my toddler...as my dd was runnin around the nurse didnt weih or measure her at all ...she just asked me lots of questions about family etc... i went back for a 2.5 year check and they didnt do anythin at all .....didnt even check how heavy or tall she was ...they had time but didnt really do much at all? Even when i addressed some slow down in growth dropped in percentile in height s well as pounds ...
I took her to the local peadiatrician then who did an ultrasound and treated her cronic constipation which was the cause...she has jumped up now and is doin much better..
The peadiatrician sounds nice at portland...any other places that do it..i may try my local peadiatrician
but i suppose for stuff like feedin and sleep patterns the doulas sound like they could help out..
Shame its not standard practice to have a structured weekly appointment...it was always very reassurin
Thanks

locally - For the first few days after birth you are in the care of the midwives still and can ring with worries or the will visit you if there is a problem. You are then discharged to the HV who will come and see you soon too. They won't regularly visit unless you wish them to/there is a problem. Mine came to weight again a week later as I was very ill and they wanted to keep an eye on baby. Otherwise there are HV clinics which you can visit for weighing and any questions. They are trying to discourage overuse of these now. At 6-8 weeks you will also get a full baby check with your doctor.

Locally - there are also "under 1s" groups run by a HV at the childrens centres, these are weekly and cover basic care, interesting topics etc. Where I used to live there were groups that started at around 8 weeks for 6 weeks so it will depend on where you live.

In my area we have baby clinic once a week at the GP surgery, which is a drop in and you're welcome to go once a week or never! Whatever you need.

I also went to Sure Start groups which offered similar help. These are very area specific. My town has an extremely high teen parent rate so there are several groups that are specifically catered towards young parents, for example. We also have a Bambi club for any parent with a child aged under 1 year. You could find if there is something like that near you.

oh wow the gp weekly clinic sounds fab...will ask my doc next time i see her how it works here in richmond

thanks so much ladies...im on my second child but feel i have to start over as its in a different country .,..and a few months after baby is born we move again...so baby nr 3 will be planned for mexico or hong kong... dear husbands lovely career !
cant complain bout life being boring at least eh :)

If you're in Richmond Surrey there are well baby clinics in Ham, Twickenham and Kew (term time only Kew). There is only one private GP practice I know of in Richmond but personally I wouldn't pay to see someone unless I had concerns. The HV service is massively stretched here.

You can find details of NHS clinics in the documents at the bottom of this page www.nct.org.uk/branches/richmond. You will need to scroll right down to the bottom below the fold.

I don't know of any weekly GP service with clinics in Richmond itself any more but there are a couple in Barnes and one in East Sheen.

Some pharmacies will weigh your baby for a small fee (50p when I asked) but that's all you'll get. A weight. You may as well pop the baby on the scales in Waitrose. At least you'll get a sticker for your toddler...

oh fab thanks...i just saw kew medical practice runs weekly baby clinics...will enquire there ..east sheen is close enouh as well

The GP clinics tend to only take their registered patients and it's also a good idea to check they're still going.

My surgery advertised baby clinics on a Wednesday for months that weren't happening.

The clinic at East Sheen is an HV drop-in so no need to be a registered patient at one of the GP surgeries in the building.

I so want to weigh my baby in the supermarket now . . . I'm just imagining the thread if another mumsnetter saw me!

As well as baby clinics my HV runs weekly "Baby CLub", which are a bit like other mum and baby groups, but supervised by a a community nursery nurse who works in the HV team, to chat to you about any concerns you have about you and your baby. She has a rolling series of about 8 talks - weaning, sleep, safety, oral health, foot care, child care options, etc - which she does every week, and does baby foot and handprints every so often too. We do signing at the end of every session too, and has a box of books and toys we can borrow too. This is all tied into the Sure Start centre too, and is very "joined up" with other services for pre schoolers.

HV will also do home visits if you ask, and will refer you to hospital/other services if she feels this is needed.

I appreciate that I seem to have an excellent HV and v good under 5s services in my area.

The NCT run "Early Days" classes in some areas, although this is as much a discussion session and "debrief" about becoming a mother as it is about the practicalities of looking after a new baby.

The health visitors in my town run clinics four days a week alternating between the four childrens centres, although you can attend any, not just your nearest one, if you want same day advice. The health visitor also goes to the new baby club at the childrens centre once a month to answer general questions and of course they do the home visits.

I had my second and last home visit yesterday and she told me ideally I should go to one of the drop in clinics once a month unless problems require me to go more often. Seems sensible enough to me. Weekly seems a bit overkill for a healthy baby. I could get the baby weighed weekly at the childrens centre if I wanted to become obsessed with his weight though!

We had a nice weekly drop-in where you could go and weigh your baby yourself and sit around with a cup of tea and the health visitors were around to answer questions. It was for babies up to 6 months. As a first time mum, I clearly remember seeing the older babies and thinking what monsters they were, I could hardly believe their mums could wrangle them in and out of their nappies they were so h-u-g-e!

that sounds fab...
my dd last time could not be bfed and had to change her milk a few times ...and it was so useful for her sleep patterns as well ....i did see some clinics online ...will have to find out how busy they are...
I remember having her weighed really told us a lot about how a certain milk was suitin her etc...so will def feel much better once baby is weighed every week and have someone to answer questions if i have any ....thanks