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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Newborn checks when you have a homebirth

31 replies

whomovedmychocolate · 28/04/2008 21:32

When I had DD in hospital (for ten sodding days) they did all her newborn and seven day checks on the ward.

What happens when you have a homebirth? Do you have to trek into the hospital to get them done?

OP posts:

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SnafuBecalmed · 28/04/2008 21:34

Some places you will have to go to the hospital, but some midwives are trained to do the newborn check so could come out to you. And some GPs will do them. So, it depends really!

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 28/04/2008 21:35

Thanks. I guess that's one advantage of the hospital, you an register the birth and get all the tests done there and then.

Still not worth having to be poked by doctors for though

OP posts:

stripeymama · 28/04/2008 21:37

When I had dd I was told that my GP should come to the house to do it.

In the event he didn't (apparently I lived too far away) and in the end they arranged for a locum doctor to come. They tried to get me to take her to the hospital but I refused, which the out-of-hours doctor didn't like at all.

In fact he said I was negligent and did I not appreciate the importance of the checks?

SnafuBecalmed · 28/04/2008 21:38

Definitely not

The mws I am working with right now are all trained in examination of the newborn, so when they do homebirths they just pop back the next day and do the full baby check. It's SO much nicer for the new mums - personally I think it should be part of our midwifery training - continuity 'n' all...

Tigger13 · 28/04/2008 21:38

Hi I have home birth booked i'm 35wks and midwife came yesterday to do home check she said gp will visit soon after birth to do checks and midwifes do them as well, i guess anything needing more checks will go to hospital. That's if I manage a HB

Original poster

whomovedmychocolate · 28/04/2008 21:38

Oh how lovely stripeymama. So you were negligent because he couldn't be arsed. A member of the caring profession obviously.

OP posts:

Beauregard · 28/04/2008 21:38

A community midwife came and did dd2's checks the next day.

duchesse · 28/04/2008 21:39

Midwife/ GP do em. Everything pretty much as it would be if you were discharged in the standard time frame of ooh about 11 hours these days...

Tommy · 28/04/2008 21:40

m MW wasn't trained for the new born checks but her colleague cam a couple of days later IIRC and did them - no problem.

Ceolas · 28/04/2008 21:40

When we left hospital a few hours after DS was born, GP came to the house. DD3 was born at home last year and the community mws did her check.

RosaLuxembourg · 28/04/2008 21:41

I had two different experiences with mine. For the first one, a lovely, friendly gp came and checked DD2 over and told me how much she loved coming out to do homebirth checks.
For the second a grumpy locum came and checked while ranting at me at how I had dared to have a homebirth without my gp's permission (which, incidentally, I didn't need).
But in both cases the gp came out to me after the midwives let them know the birth had occurred.

stripeymama · 28/04/2008 21:44

Yes that was what I said.

If the damn check was so important then why didn't someone get round to doing it within 24 hours? She was three days by the time anyone turned up and by then I'd had enough - she was asleep and I refused to let them wake her up.

Cue much muttering about the "potential for harm from missed pathology".

DD is now 5 and very healthy indeed.

KaSo · 28/04/2008 21:55

I've had 3 hospital births and never still been there at day 7!!!! Personally I think most 'new baby' checks aren't necesary as long as the baby is feeding well. All they check for is reflexes, check their hips, and generally look at the baby to see if it's healthy. Nothing a Mother can't do herself.

RosaLuxembourg · 28/04/2008 21:59

I was still there at day 7 with DD1, KaSo. That's one of the main reasons I had the next two at home. It was like being banged up with no parole combined with sleep deprivation torture.

Rohan · 28/04/2008 22:38

The MW did DDs check.

Although it didn't happen until she was eight days old, as that was the first time a MW had visited after the birth. She did pick up on her hip dysplasia though and send us in for scans...at eight weeks though.

duchesse · 29/04/2008 05:32

Rohan- then you weren't getting the standard checks either for the first week! Anything could have gone wrong for you in the post natal period and they wouldn't have known... Sounds like an admin error/oversight to me.

Rohan · 29/04/2008 17:49

Yes, duchesse, I was overlooked for a lot. I don't think they ever got the paperwork right. (or much else)

They were there for 50mins when DD was born (total) and didn't come back for 8 days. We didn't get a 6 week check (and never knew to ask, back then) or any paperwork through for vaccs, etc.

DD finally got a red book aged 7 months....

ILikeToMoveItMoveIt · 29/04/2008 17:52

My GP will be doing mine. My MW said she will sort it out for us after the baby has been born.

booge · 29/04/2008 17:53

GP came over the same afternoon to check DD.

ILikeToMoveItMoveIt · 29/04/2008 18:02

WMMC - I meant to say, how many weeks are you now? I hope you're still not having ongoing discussions/battles with your hb choice. Oh, and do you know if there is a VBAC thread active at the moment? I'm now 21 weeks and feel ready to participate in a VBAC thread!

jingleyjen · 29/04/2008 18:04

MW did some initial checks (boys both born at the weekend) then on the Monday a GP from our surgery came out to do checks.

maxbear · 29/04/2008 20:40

My gp did mine, first time round later on the same day, second time round the next day. Day seven checks are now done on day 5 in the trust I'm in, should be done at home by com mw.

FourPlusOne · 29/04/2008 20:46

I was told that the GP couldn't come and that I would have to go into hospital - I refused to go the next morning as they wanted me to, but went when DC2 was 2 days old instead (well, 1 1/2 days!). So I had to wait in a fairly grotty waiting room trying to bf a newborn with a toddler in tow. Not nice...and was really hard to park in the hospital too. In hindsight I wish I had refused but it didn't occur to me at the time. Was a midwife who did the checks in the end too!

If i have a homebirth next time I will refuse to drag myself and newborn baby into hospital if there is nothing wrong.

littleducks · 29/04/2008 20:50

my baby was an umplanned homebirth delivered by paramedics, when the midwife arrived she phoned my gp surgery and a dr came in the afternoon to check baby. It was lovely he took his time said baby was perfect allowed dh to use his instrument that shows cornea or something in the eye and repeatedly mentioned how wonderful it is to have baby at home.

had to go into hosp two days later for bcg, waited over two hours till i got fed up and had dh leave dd (almost 2) to wait with me on the ward while he avoided the redicolous car park charges, her incessant wittering on and hearing me repeatedly read the one picture book i had (quietly) meant the nurses then couldnt wait to shift me (works every time). Dh was furious as i had the baby in less time than it took to get the jab!

sweetkitty · 29/04/2008 20:53

Fourplusone - I had the same thing as you, DD1 born 4am one day next day we had an appointment to take her to the maternity ward at the hospital for her checks. So we all traipse along there at the alloted time, me one day post partum, 18mo DD1 and DP. They ushered us into a side room and left us there for an hour, we were about to leave when someone came to see us.

Next time I will tell them to send someone out to me.

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