health visitors.do you love them or hate them?

[mum28]

after a spell of mental illness,i was put under the microscope and baby was checked up on all the time.they were more of a pain than a help.how do you get on with yours?.

[sheesh]

think it just depends who you get! I live on Herts ?Cambs border and the Cambs HV is a dithery twit like woman who speaks with such a soppy voice i can never take her seriously and never seems in touch with reality anyway...Herts HV is lovely down to earth knows everyones kids and their kids and runs a weight loss clinic for post pregnancy and beyond and always has sound advice and a smile and is a real human being

[doormat]

Never see her. The only time HV calls is for developemental checks ie 6 week and 2 yrs.She is ok though.

Does anyone have that red health authority book?
I find it a pain in the bum as can never find it when needed.

[boyandgirl]

I've had two at different surgeries, and they were both good for me and mine. I definitely prefer the second one, because she has kids of her own, whereas the first one did everything by the book - and I'm not sure which book it was ('everything that goes into the baby's mouth must be sterlised until the age of one year' - what, including the grass, my shoe, her brother's fingers and that 2nd hand rusk she's just picked up off your floor?). Even so, I could talk to her for as long as I needed, and not just about the baby, and she sorted out treatment for me when I went down with PND. I was very happy that, having had PND with no1, my new HV phoned me up every so often during the next pregnancy to check that I was OK, and she still does that now if she hasn't heard from me for a while. Nonetheless, with both of them, if I don't agree with what they say I just go off and do my own thing!

[misdee]

doctors can be useless. i had an awful one in harlow, perscribed strong steroid cream for my dd2 facial eczema when all she needed was a moisteriser. lucky i knew what this cream was cos i could've damaged her skin more. my HV here has been over a lot in the last month to help with form filling i have to do.

[anais]

Jimjams - same here - my hv was determined I was going to be depressed!

I've had 2 - the first was ok - not very approachable. She knew my Mum (kind of) and obviously disapproved of me having the baby.

When I moved my new Hv was again ok, harmless and nothing desperately wrong, but she never seemed particularly interested. If I asked for help and advice she never really had any and was far more interested in chatting than actually helping me.

There was one really lovely hv at the practice who was really sympathetic, understanding, always had advice and suggestions - just a shame I never got to see her.

[FairyMum]

Mine was terribly old-fashioned. It was like travelling back to the 1950's.......