Is a HV legally required?

[MollysDolly]

Just that really. Google seems to have conflicting info.

There appear to be 5 visits between birth and 2.5yrs. Do you have to have all of them by law?

If you 100% know if it's yes/no, could you let me know the source for your certainty please, as I've had three friends who are "I think you do....I think you don't" and that's bugger all help

I'm in England, South East.

No they're not a legal requirement. I had some with DC1, one with DC2 and none with my 3rd child because I didn't see the point.

It's not a legal requirement. The same way a GP isn't legally required etc. I have not opted out of the HV system and have had minimal contact from them. Haven't been seen face to face because of covid and have had 2 video chat things. One when she was newly born and one at 12 months.

Their advice can be outdated and rubbish but I think can be a good way in for pushing for certain referrals etc.

No. You are legally allowed to refuse any intervention you don’t want unless you’re mandated to have it by a court.

Why would you not want them out of interest?

It's an opt in service. You get asked about it at midwife appt (being referred to them), or at least they should ask... Its entirely optional.

@Mrsmch123 there is no need especially if it’s not your first child. If your child is unwell take them to the GP. Unsure about weaning and milestones etc all the info is readily available online.

No idea if it a legal requirement but I would say it is a red flag if you refuse to engage completely…eg. that you are concealing something like domestic abuse or very poor living conditions. It’s for the child, not the adult.

It's not a legal requirement but if there are any other red flags and then you refuse to engage, it will raise suspicions.

GP, MW, HV and any and all health care professionals are an optional service. You choose whether or not to use them.

It’s not a red flag , that’s a myth. It’s not for the child it’s for parents who feel they need a HV support. The vast majority do not.

I opted out. 3rd baby, felt confident, know how over stretched they are and thought their time would be better spent where it was needed. They threatened me with social services. I had some very choice words and never heard from them again. Social services never made contact either

It's not a legal requirement however I do tend to raise my eyebrows a little when I hear people say they opt out. Saying that I've only ever had good experiences with ours.

I didn't opt out but I've never been visited, DS is nearly 2. I guess that's due to Covid but we haven't been told any reason for it.

I always wary when people want to opt out
If everything is fine you’ll barely see your hv. If you have a problem and need a salt referral or some other referral it’s significantly easier to get with your hv onside and pushing for it as well.
Both mine lost considerable weight after birth so I saw a lot of my hv in the early days as she did the weighing checks. If I hadn’t had the hv I would have had to take the baby back to the children’s ward for weighing.

@Mrsmch123

Why would you not want them out of interest?

For example my 6 week old baby is breastfed so we're no where near weaning yet and mine has already let me know her opinions on raising children vegan so that's going to be fun when the time comes.

Quote from NHS website.
"At what age is it safe to become a vegetarian or vegan?
As long as they get all the nutrients they need, children can be brought up healthily on a vegetarian or vegan diet."

Not a legal requirement but, in my experience, they can be very difficult if you don't wish to engage. Had a bad experience with them with DC1 and so decided to opt out with DC2. Our GP confirmed that there was no legal obligation. Nevertheless, we were hounded by HVs who wouldn't take no for an answer! They tried to involve social services, our GP and a paediatric consultant who we'd never heard of. We had to go through PALS (who were excellent) to sort it out. All paperwork was ordered to be destroyed and the HVs involved were required to have "additional training". It was properly mad and Kafkaesque!

@Southbucksldn

No idea if it a legal requirement but I would say it is a red flag if you refuse to engage completely…eg. that you are concealing something like domestic abuse or very poor living conditions. It’s for the child, not the adult.

This.

It really isn't a myth MyDcAreMarvel , it is a 'part of a jigsaw', so, on it's own it doesn't mean you have social workers descending on you from all directions, but it definitely adds to a picture where there are concerns.

I opted out for my first child after an absolutely toxic HV told me my child had severe developmental issues and referred her to a paediatrician without even asking us. When there was absolutely nothing wrong, GP thought she was completely normal too.

We had a very good GP who we went to for
everything child related.

I used a HV for my second but she was excellent.

I don’t know that it’s worth formally opting out. If something does come up you might need the support and they can help with referrals of needed. You can be very low touch though. When I had my second (my first was abroad), the HV introduced herself by zoom when he was newborn cos Covid. The HV 6 week review didn’t happen because again it was zoom and I missed the email invite, and I emailed saying sorry and would be happy to rearrange if she liked but that I didn’t have any concerns I needed to raise at present. No response. Then I had a call inviting me to do a 10-12 month review which I politely declined. I use the CDC milestone tracker app to check milestones as it what I used with my first and it’s great, our bathroom scales have a baby weigh function (also he’s massive so I have zero concerns) and he’s also in a clinical study which means he has regular paediatrician visits. So I don’t see the need. But if say he wasn’t walking by 15 months the HV would be my first call.

no but it looks obstructive not to and is worrying

Yes but being vegan is fine if you are well educated and know what you are doing. Same for any other diet really. However if the parents aren’t aware about b12/iron/vit d supplementation then a HV might help. Once the HV sees you know what you are doing then they will likely leave you to it.

I engaged with them with DD. I started with them with DD but after they majorly messed up when I reported DV to the police I won't be dealing with them again.

No you don’t; i last saw my HV when my daughter was 2 weeks old, she’s now 4 however from experience if you refuse the first visit they will say it’s a concern and try to report you to ss, this happened to me with my first baby, and no socks involved before as she was my first.but hv threatened to report me to ss if I didn’t see her

Not a legal requirement and I can quite openly say as I work with HV that, they won't be concerned if you don't engage, it's not a red flag of any sort and they won't be following up. If anything they'll probably be grateful to have someone off their caseload right now as they are vastly underfunded and understaffed.

Also with my own child, I haven't seen a single HV once and social services have not come knocking on my door.