35 weeks just had a health visitor come visit :)

[SweetPea86]

Was really nervous as i didn't think they came untill after baby was born.
For and one who is worried don't be. Lovely lady who give me lots of adivce on breast feeding as I told her I want to bf. asked if I had any questions and give me lots of leaflets on healthy eating, local classes etc.

I ransacked the house thinking she was going to look around. She didn't and even said don't feel like the house has to be tidy when we visit. That's not what we do. So overall really happy :)

You mean they aren't all monsters undercover spies who want nothing more to steal and hand children over to Social Services???

Well I never....

I'm glad you had a good experience. I was hoping to meet mine before the baby comes but the area in which I live hasn't had the pre-birth visit scheme be implemented yet.

I'm glad you found it helpful

sweetpea I met mine a few weeks ago too they must be rolling it out gradually then as I was the 3rd lady to be seen in my area my hv is really lovely too and made things seem far more comfortable. She too tried to tell me she's not inspecting the house when she comes to see bubs and I, but if there were to be any worries she would make me aware first before going to social services. its nice to be put at ease isn't it

Oh goody more bloody leaflets. Waiting for mine to arrive right now. This is my second baby and the health visitor advice was pretty shocking first time round so will be interested to hear what groundbreaking useful info this lady has to tell me

Why shocking domestic goddess?

im 28 weeks and health visitor sent me a letter saying she wanted to come and see me, on x date at 10am! I had to ring to cancel as I will be at work!

if she has to come during the day she will have to wait til im on holiday! (im a teacher).

Mine is coming next week. She rang me a couple of weeks ago on my work blackberry to make the appt and seemed really annoyed when I told her to use my personal number! Hope that isn't a sign of things to come?

Aside from giving you a pile of leaflets what else did she say? I had the infant feeding lady come round yesterday which I thought was going to be a waste of time to be honest, but it was really useful.

I had the same thing puppy. Surely most women aren't home in the middle of the day on a Thursday afternoon at only 28 weeks pregnant . I received the letter 2 days before the appointment so I didn't have time to rearrange things to suit. They were very nice when I called them to rearrange, but I still got a phonecall the following week asking why I wasn't at home for my appointment! It would be a lot easier if they just asked women to call and book their own appointments first. Different when you've had the baby and are at home every day.

I didn't learn anything I hadn't already been told by mw and ante natal class, but hv was very nice.

green the one I saw asked loads of questions about our family and what support we had. She talked about how to bf and hand express, also safe sleeping. Talked about postnatal depression, meningitis, and domestic violence. A bit about local children's centres, the activities they do and about immunisations, health checks and getting baby weighed.

I really wanted this when pregnant but she only came when baby was 10 days old and I've not seen her since! She was lovely but others I've seen in the clinic have been horrific and loads of my friends have had awful experiences.

I think there are good and bad but it's such a subjective area the bad can be very upsetting.

Trinpy, what's wrong if a women was at home on a Thursday afternoon she might be a full time mum. I'm on mat leave now so that's why I was home.

The hv did kind of repeat info that I already new but at least it's nice some times you packed with that much info it's hard to take it all in.

Thought I would post as. . .wait for it. . . I am one of those dreaded HVs that you all probably hear so much about! Have name changed for this post anyway as don't want to be outed on the other threads I'm on :)

Just to reassure everyone, Health Visitors are not there to nose about your house or cart you off to social services! Unless a parent is particularly excited about showing me their newly decorated nursery then the visit takes place in whatever room the parent choses. . . needless to say I have conducted visits in all sorts of strange places and with mums in various states of undress! So please, don't worry dashing about clearing up-we are used to normal household clutter (and worse!)

sweetpea86 it's really positive to hear that you were offered an antenatal visit, in an ideal world all parents would get a visit before their baby is born because it's a great opportunity to provide information and for parents to ask questions before the fog of hormones and sleepless nights kick in! Unfortunately in many areas (and certainly where I work) there is just no capacity to offer such visits so we rarely get to meet our families antenatally

DomesticGoddess31 it's really sad to hear you had a bad experience with your HV-what happened? We are guilty of bringing round lots of leaflets, but they only supposed to support what is discussed during the visit so that when we leave you're able to look back and remind yourself what was said. Also do bear in mind that Health Visiting is not mandatory, if you feel that a visit wouldn't be helpful then you are within your rights to turn it down

Health Visitors are all nurses or midwives by background, and a lot of us have specialist experience too so the idea is that we're on hand to answer any of your questions relating to your health, your baby's health and development, and your family's wellbeing, as well as providing additional support when needed so don't be afraid to ask yours for help!

I can't see problem with lots of leaflets. Maybe because I'm pregnant with my first I find it all new and exciting to read. Plus there's so much info it's hard to take it all in.

I'm sure if we weren't given those leaflets lots of people would complain because they weren't getting enough info.

I found the hv visit actually better than some of my early midwfie appointments. Basically went in took my bloods and wanted me out ASAP. The lady this morning kept asking if I had any questions. So I found it really positive. Sorry that some ladies haven't.

HVMummy, can I ask you a question please?

I would really like to breastfeed, but I am unsure as to whether to mention this to a HV or MW or not. The reason is that when someone else close to me had their first baby, they really wanted to breastfeed and it didn't work out, but they had a visit every day from the HV (the family member was clearly struggling, I think that is why they came every day) and at each visit they just went on about the sodding breastfeeding, to the extent of offering to help them start up again etc etc and my relative felt (rightly in my opinion) really nagged.

Because of this my plan was to pretend that I didn't want to breastfeed as I don't want to be in that position, but it feels a bit sad because actually I could probably do with advice. What would you suggest?

ohh
Thanks for the heads up.
I thought they didn't get involved until after baby is born.

Armadale, the lady today straight away said its up to me on if I bf or formula feed. She didn't even ask me what I wanted to do. I then went on to say I will bf so then she begun discussing, she was really nice and said don't be too hard on your self if it doesn't work out. She told me all benifts but said nothing wrong with formula too.

I'm sure hv mummy can answer better tho

sweetpea86 it sounds like you had a lovely HV!

Armadale I think the first thing I would say is that the choice of whether you chose to breastfeed is entirely yours and you should be fully supported whatever you decide to do :)

If you would like to breastfeed then I think a good mantra is 'forewarned is forearmed'! It's always great to get some pre birth advice with regards to positioning and attachment (it can take a bit of time to get the hang of!), and what to do when things don't go to plan,
I would really encourage you to discuss it with your midwife/HV because they are supposed to be able to give you advice that supports your choice whatever that may be, but if you're not sure then check out www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/support-centres-by-area.html
to find a local support centre or www.laleche.org.uk/ where you will find a wealth of information!
It's ok if you want to keep an open mind and see how you feel when your baby arrives too but equally don't be afraid to ask for the info beforehand!

thanks HVMummy, that is really helpful & I've bookmarked those links

My HV was nearing retirement and seemed only interested in chatting about that and whether I was being beaten up/had PND/was about to harm my baby. She passed my precious newborn without asking to the student she had brought along unannounced. I had just brought my baby home from hospital after a very stressful and emotional 2 weeks in the neonatal unit. I needed practical help and advice. What I got was box ticking, form filling and patronising.

My second HV was even more patronising and unhelpfully informed me that since DD had been tube fed 4 hourly in hospital, I should be able to do the same with breastfeeding. She was feeding on demand more like 2hourly at the time and she told me to start stretching out feeds. Good thing I am google proficient.

I witnessed the same HV run a well baby clinic a few weeks later while clearly suffering with a terrible cold/flu

My DD had reflux, didn't sleep, and spent best part of 2 years screaming inconsolably. Any questions I had for hvs were met with a shrug and a "go see your gp".

The last straw was the letter I received booking me an antenatal HV appointment for the baby I had miscarried 5 months previously. This was my 3rd of 4 miscarriages and most devastating.

To be fair the lady I saw today seemed very nice and did give me some useful info on immunisations and clinic and bfing support group timetables. However I do think it was an appointment that could be better saved for first time mums. I also think more work needs to be done between hvs and mws to provide a more complimentary and consistent service. I have 2 midwives for antenatal care, i'll have a different one for the birth and then a different one again will visit after the birth. Then I have a couple of HV visits after the birth and my MW mentioned i'll be visited by some postnatal support workers too?!? Its no wonder I keep having the same breastfeeding leaflets shoved at me (despite having actually done it for best part of a year).

I will admit to being 37 weeks pregnant and thus pretty grumpy at the moment.