What happens at health visitor visit during pregnancy?

[Lunastar9]

First time mum here so not a clue 😂

My midwife appointment at 31 weeks has just been cancelled so I wasn’t sure if it was instead of that but it’s a telephone appointment so not sure what it could be for.

I did a google and it said about checking the house to make sure it’s safe for baby etc but obvs that can’t be done over the phone? 😂

Maybe it depends on health board but I thought health visitors were after birth, I’m term on Monday and have only seen midwifes (and hca at the hospital of course).

31 weeks was with a midwife for me, the usual pee and blood pressure.

I thought it was do with checking the house too, making sure your happy and ready? They might just do a general ‘how do you feel?’ on the phone. My DS was born before I was meant to have that appointment so we never had it. I definitely didn’t feel like we’d missed anything so I doubt it’s that useful or important tbh.

My DS was born at 38 weeks btw, I think the appointment would have been the week after - I don’t see why they would see you as early as 31 weeks.

They will introduce you to the service and give you public health messages. Questions will be asked about who's in the house, if it's owned, if you have any worried re over crowding or money, how well you're supported, how you're planning on feeding etc.

Worries not worried.

They'll be doing it early in order to a) meet targets and b) because the whole service has been turned upside down due to coronavirus and they're all doing what they can when they can due to the sheer volume of safeguarding right now which is understandably taking a priority

Why have they cancelled it? Third trimester appointments should really be face to face!

It's also to do with checking youre not a potential abuser. Much if the hv role is about safeguarding abd child protection

Health visitors now try to visit you before birth to introduce themselves, and they use it as an excuse to check your social situation is ok, no domestic violence, no housing issues etc. Over the phone they'll just have a general chat with you and let you know what to expect from them after birth. It's a good idea in theory as after you've just given birth you're brains a bit frazzled anyway so you forget everything they tell you!

They give me lots of leaflets about safe sleeping, weaning, baby care etc. Obviously they can't give you leaflets over the phone, so might just direct you to websites.

Also asked lots of questions to try to flag up anyone who might need extra support. From what I remember - domestic violence, family support, financial situation (not detailed, just do you think you'll manage), do either parent have SEN or disabilities, if either parent was in care, and any previous social services involvement.

It’s not really about checking anything. I’m a midwife, we work closely with heath visitors (although we aren’t interchangeable and I’m not sure why your MW appointment has been cancelled but it won’t have anything to do with the HV). No one expects you to be set up and ready for a baby at 31 weeks. Of course the benefit of a home visit is that you might recognise some potential challenges in the home environment but they aren’t coming round in order to check on you unless specific concerns have been raised by other professionals.

The HV will introduce themself, ask if you have any questions or concerns, ask about domestic violence, ask about your family and support network, ask about your mental health, ask how you plan to feed your baby, tell you about local support services, discuss safe sleeping, explain vaccinations etc. My health visitor never even left my front room FWIW.