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Original poster

Worst piece of advice from HV?

60 replies

yummymummy345 · 03/08/2011 14:11

Just off the top of my head...
put vaseline round bottom for excess bottom wind??????
breast feed then top up with formula after every feed- surely that defeats the whole object of bf and depleats your milk supply???

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

desperatelyseekingsolutions · 03/08/2011 16:04

I was told that piece of great advice by a midwife when DS hadn't put on much weight at 4 weeks old. Give him formula. I did and my milk was never sufficient after that - don't know how it would have been different but wish I'd ignored her for a few more weeks (surely EBF take a little while to establish)
BTW, DS 15mo still BF and I'm trying to ween him off in time for next one due in Dec.

JumpJockey · 03/08/2011 16:09

Was told simultaneously that I should a) give dd baby rice in a bottle at 5 months to help her sleep better, but also b) because she was a month early, hold off the weaning as her gut wouldn't be mature enough for solids yet.

Also, as a bfing mother, I should be drinking 3 litres of water a day. [nips to the loo]

MoonFaceMamaaaaargh · 03/08/2011 16:12

My friend was told that her ds wouldn't sleep through till he was on solids. Don't know why she didn't just keep slipping him chicken and chips as that worked before the four month sleep regression. Funnily enough her ds didn't sleep through till several months after he got stuck in to solids.

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worldgonecrazy · 03/08/2011 16:18

To give my two day old daughter formula to 'wash out her jaundice'. I refused and blood tests proved that the MW was giving crappy and unnecessary advice and could have put my breastfeeding journey at risk. Other MWs and HVs have agreed with my assessment of the situation and said she was talking rubbish.

fluffyanimal · 03/08/2011 16:22

"There's no nutrition in baby rice." WTF? It's rice - the staple diet of a significant portion of the world's population. Grinding it to a powder does not cause all the nutritional content to drop out.

(To me when breastfeeding) "Are you drinking plenty?" (Me:) "yes" (HV:) "What are you drinking?" (Me:) "Water mainly" (HV laughs patronisingly:) "Silly girl, there's no calories in water, you should be having hot chocolate."

PirateDinosaur · 03/08/2011 16:23

My HV this time told me I "should get a live-in Filipino"

Oh, and that my third baby was smaller than the others because the placenta was getting used up (just and for that one)

fluffyanimal · 03/08/2011 16:23

Oh, sorry, didn't realise colon bracket would result in a smilie! that's what comes of trying to punctuate properly on the internet.

Original poster

yummymummy345 · 03/08/2011 17:13

Funny! loved the placenta one! perhaps they think our brains have gone to mush so can tell us anything?!

OP posts:

ShowOfHands · 03/08/2011 17:17

If I bf dd past 6 months I'd be anaemic, very ill, a husk etc and dh would leave due to lack of sex.

CrosswordAddict · 03/08/2011 17:18

"They eat what you eat"
Has anyone ever tried to liquidise a green salad?
How did she know what we ate?
And how did she know it was suitable for the DCs at four months?

ShowOfHands · 03/08/2011 17:22

They eat what you eat is good advice. As long as you're weaning from the recommended age of 6 months as you don't need to puree, you just dish up whatever you're having.

But for a 4 month old, yes, not really practical.

mymumdom · 03/08/2011 17:26

That I should think about terminating when I found out I was pregnant with DD2. It was an unplanned pregnancy, and I hadn't coped very well with DD1 but surely she should have waited for me to bring up the subject first?

MilaMae · 03/08/2011 17:28

That there was no need for formula and to keep bfeeding in order to flush out jaundice.Few days later 1 very poorly baby was admitted dehydrated and now extremely jaundiced into SCBU. SCBU consultant very cross as formula would have averted the whole trauma.

colditz · 03/08/2011 17:30

"You really should be thinking about weaning"

Ds2 was 15 weeks - I asked her why she wanted me to think about weaning him nearly 3 months early, and she backed right off and said "Oh er just so you know how you're going to do it. When you do do it, I mean"

Ummmm, I'll wean ds2 in the same manner in which I weaned Ds1, surely ....?

BalloonSlayer · 03/08/2011 17:31

When I told her I was worried about his calcium levels because he was allergic to milk and soya she suggested I give him yoghurt. Then looked a bit blank when I told her yoghurt is made from milk, and when it isn't it's made from soya.

hester · 03/08/2011 17:31

That I should do controlled crying with a newly adopted, traumatised baby.

Nah, I don't think so.

Primafacie · 03/08/2011 17:33

A HV told my postnatal group that there was an ongoing controversy on the MMR jab and potential link to autism, and that we should make up our own mind on whether we wanted to take the risk and have our babies vaccinated! How irresponsible, given that Wakefield loony was entirely discredited.

fivesacrowd · 03/08/2011 17:42

Love playing crap HV top trumps. Mine told me I was making a huge fuss about my ds (8 months at time) rash as it looked viral to her. Told me I'd need to wait til that pm to see a GP. Fortunately the receptionist took me seriously as it was menigitis. All fine now - GP gave him antibiotic and saved his life then he spent 2 weeks in hospital - if we'd listened to hv who knows if we'd have him now. HV "retired" soon after but then came back to work in other practice at health centre. Can't look me in the eye on the odd occassions I bump into her.

TimeWasting · 03/08/2011 17:42

Totally unrelated to health issues, but when I was complaining about the heatwave we were having three years ago, about 4-5 days of 30C temps, she said it wasn't a heatwave as it hadn't lasted long.

Not quite as stupid as Balloonslayers though,

Primafacie · 03/08/2011 17:43

MilaMae, I am surprised the consultant prescribed formula to treat jaundice and I don't think there is much scientific support for that suggestion. My son was very jaundiced and everyone told me to keep on bfing, including during three separate stays at the hospital. I specifically asked about formula and was consistently told it was not a cure. The jaundice eventually went away at 10 weeks.

MilaMae · 03/08/2011 18:13

Who said "cure"?

My baby wasn't getting enough bm/fluid to flush out the bilirubin. Her dehydration didn't help either.If my baby had been given formula sooner the chances are it could have helped to flush things out and avert her dehydration.

As I didn't express enough bm in SCBU formula saved her life.

It was a highly respected paed consultant,think I'll go with what she said if you don't mind.If I'd have carried on doing what my hv said she'd have been brain damaged.

ShowOfHands · 03/08/2011 19:09

MilaMae, I think it's that the jaundice is sort of irrelevant. BM or formula is needed to flush out jaundice with neither one to be recommended over the other, whatever works for that particular mother and baby. And keeping a baby well hydrated and fed will achieve that end. The hv should have been noting the success of bfing and advising accordingly, not merely commenting on jaundice iyswim.

And Primafacie, Wakefield's science was NOT discredited and his findings have been replicated. He was sacked, not the science.

I'm not a HV, honest.

MoonFaceMamaaaaargh · 03/08/2011 19:25

Wasn't wakefield found to have had some dodgey links with companies who stood to bennefit? And struck off as a result?

Also furry as i understand it there is very little nutrition in baby rice, as there is in most highly refined carbs. Though it is fortified with iron, but that's not really that usefull as bm and formula both contain in and it can lead to constipation.

ShowOfHands · 03/08/2011 19:28

I make reference only to the science. His science was good. His findings replicated by others. He may be all manner of things, but the actual science needs more investigating.

RhinestoneCowgirl · 03/08/2011 19:31

Didn't see much of my HV either time. Last time I saw her was when DD (second child) was about 3 weeks old and she cautioned me about cuddling her when she was asleep as I was 'making a rod for my own back'...

Well maybe I like the rod

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