Can you decline a health visitor visit before baby is born? (and just see them after baby is born)

[Kaoru35]

Hi,
I have got my letter to say the health visitor would be coming round next week (I'll be 36 weeks pregnant by then). I was rather hoping they had forgot as they messed up sending out the letters last month, so I didn't know they were coming until an hour before the appointment when I was on my way to work. Can you decline a health visitor appointment before baby is born (and just see them after baby is born) or would that cause any issues?

Thanks

They need to pop in and check your living circumstances for child protection reasons, I’m sure it is ok to reschedule but they will want to see where you and the baby will be living.

I thought before baby is born it was just to introduce themselves. To give you info and if you have any questions 🤔

Nah. They absolutely don't 'need' to. You can definitely refuse this (and you can refuse a visit after the baby is born as well if you like although I personally found them useful). It's a service not an obligation.

Just say no. They don't 'need to' check the living arrangements. There is no value in it for you so there is no point of them coming

You can refuse, they are pains in the arses.

You can refuse. I refused a couple of weeks ago but that was because I also have a 22 month old toddler and non of the information has changed from when I last had her so seemed really pointless

I've just had a baby and didn't see a health visitor until he was 2 weeks old. Didn't know they were supposed to come out before the baby was born.

In my part of the country the first visit is at 2-3 weeks after the birth - no prenatal visits at all, so it obviously isn't deemed necessary.

Since going back to work after my first I made sure that visits were arranged on days convenient to us - i.e. on Fridays when I don't work. If there was no availability on a Friday then the visits wouldn't happen.

Just call and explain that you can't make the appointment.

Why don't you want it?

Like others have said it's a service you don't have to accept.

I didn't refuse but I did think it was a complete waste of resources!
She turned up and didn't say much,didnt check my living circumstances or anything 🤷‍♀️
It was my third baby so I obviously knew what I was doing!
I did decline any further visits after the one she did after the baby was born because I didn't need her advice and she was only available for appointment times that clashed with the school run and again I thought her expertise 🤣would be more useful for someone that needed help.

Op never heard of visits before the birth. I think I'd call them and get them to reschedule it for after you have started your maternity leave.

I never found mine overly helpful but at the same time they have a job to do and part of that is ensuring both you and your baby are OK including looking out for PND.

They don’t need to; they like to and part of that is safeguarding but they can’t make you. With a first baby they do have quite usual information though and it’s nice to know who they are before they arrive when you’re 2 weeks post partum

OooohAhhhh · Today 02:48
You can refuse, they are pains in the arses.“
Interested to know why you think so?

8 years ago my first contact with the health visitor was after birth once the midwife had discharged us, this time I've had a health visitor come round at 30 weeks. She didn't nose round the house or anything she just gave me lots of info on breastfeeding, went through standard things like baby safety around the house and also wanted to know who lived there etc, she asked how the pregnancy had been. She was here around 30 mins I'd say.

I’ve never heard of visits before the birth either, not a thing where I live. 10 years ago hv came round for 2 or 3 times after birth, then you took them to be weighed a few times and that was it on your own, i believe it’s been cut back further since

I have never had a visit from a Health Visitor to my house! Why do they want to come to you? Why would you refuse?

They don't check your living circumstances at all 🙄
Mind came last week. She gave me a leaflet about not shaking babies, talked about safe sleep, asked how I wanted to feed and put my name down for baby massage. That was it.
She'll visit again at 2 weeks after baby is born. She said most HV miss the prenatal visit because they leave it too late which is what happened with DS1.

You can absolutely decline, it's not mandatory. You can opt out of HV input altogether if you want to.

I didn’t want them because I found them nosy and intrusive and I was perfectly capable of raising my babies without their ‘advice’, which completely changed according to different health visitors. The first one was a massive breast feeding pusher, but nearly caused me to give up breastfeeding before I even started after telling me my baby could be hospitalised if I gave her a bottle of formula whilst waiting for the 4 days it took for my milk to come in. She was screaming and starving for days and fading in front of my eyes. God forbid I give her a single bottle though. The second one cancelled on me 3 times in a row, only after the appointment was already meant to start though so I was already sat there waiting after arranging my day around her. When she did turn up all she did was give me 4? leaflets on domestic violence, and then demand to see my bedroom where the baby would be sleeping. And then told me off because the cot was dangerous and full of washing. I hadn’t finished building the bloody thing yet, and of course there wouldn’t be washing in it if there was a baby in it! 3rd health visitor got told to go swivel 🖕

The problem is when people decline a service it gets recorded, if enough people decline there's a risk the service will be considered not necessary and then cut. Which means the people who need it can't access it then either.

With my second I never saw a HV. Not once. I just called and said I'm busy that day no thank you

Lol expertise

Ask yourself why you don't want them to come. Is there a concern? Perhaps they can help. They won't care if your house isn't nice, they are there to support you are signpost you for if you need more

Seeing a health visitor is not mandatory. If you are in any way open to children's social care though I'd suggest seeing them, not doing so is more hassle than it's worth for you.
It's unusual for them to come prior to birth without a reason.

It's unusual for them to come prior to birth without a reason.

That's not necessarily true. In some areas antenatal visits are a part of their standard service.