Home visit

[Badassbreastfeeder85]

Has anyone had a home visit from the midwife during pregnancy?I'm 18 weeks and was meant to have my appt on the 17th it's just been cancelled and another midwife has just said she wants to do a home visit Monday

Of course it isn’t strange. Midwives have a duty of care to ensure the baby will have a safe home.

@Scatteredpictures exactly!! Refuse it, OP, and you may trigger suspicion. You do know they see you in your home once baby is born, yes? And the health visitor. Do you have something to hide?

The purpose of the visit isn't to check the suitability of the home though, otherwise everyone would have antenatal home checks. I see being offered appointments at home a privilege and feel grateful that my postcode happened to fall under the remit of the home care midwifery team.

The pre-birth HV visit was a thing with my last 2. Actually really useful because we got all the paperwork done before they were born and then just filled in name and DoB and I didn’t have to worry about doing it with a newborn!

My anatomy isn’t a public area but it doesn’t mean loads of strangers aren’t going to be looking up it when my second baby has to come out 🤔

@Scatteredpictures 🤣🤣🤣🤣🙈

It's probably that the MW may have other home visits in the area that day so it makes sense to do it there instead of in clinic.

I'm a HCP and do home visits all the time. We see all sorts of houses/ living situations. The only ones that stick in the head (and require action) have been ones with aggressive dogs, excrement on the carpets, or drug dealers hanging around the front door.

Is it to do with COVID restrictions and the fact they changed it during that and then kept it?

I had DD in 2018. I didn't have any midwife appointments at home but I did have a health visitor one. It was mostly a checking in and making sure we were ok type visit. Giving us some bits of info, making sure we were aware of things like safe sleep guidance and that sort of thing. Also letting us know what to expect in terms of having the baby and what support we would get. It didn't feel particularly intrusive. She didn't look round the house or anything. I had a lot of issues with my pregnancy and recovery and she was great and supportive.

Midwife here.

It sounds like the midwife who usually covers your clinic is off at the moment hence your appointment being cancelled.
And so instead of getting another midwife to cover an entire clinic, it’s probably been easier to get several midwives to split the women from the clinic up and see them at home for this appointment.

This implies that my home isn't safe,which it is so yeah maybe it does feel like an intrusion/judgement t

@Badassbreastfeeder85 it doesn't imply that at all, they don't pick people to have home appointments because they're suspicious that something isn't right in the home. It just comes down to how your particular midwives do things.

Helpful

Thankfully my drs surgery is less than 10 minute walk away from work/my house so no need for hours of travel so it's not inconvenient to go there for my medical appointments

Most antenatal appointments are at hospital or clinics. I don't believe GP surgeries get too involved with maternity care these days.

God I’d love to have appointments at home. I’m under a hospital that’s miles away, have a toddler, my GP surgery doesn’t deal with anything pregnancy related and I’m having loads of consultant appointments which are a faff to get to so I’d find this thoughtful and convenient.

She’s probably just trying to fit it into her diary if she is short on clinic appts. To make sure you still get the care you need for your pregnancy. But you can decline if you don’t feel comfortable for any reason, that’s up to you.

If you're not comfortable just phone and ask for an appointment at a clinic. It won't necessarily flag up as anything suspicious just that you'd prefer a medical setting to your own home. Each to their own.

I prayed for midwives home visits. C section and had to attend the hospital for 18 days after having my last baby in covid.

Never known midwife to come out before baby but my gp is across the road so makes no odds, health visitor asked if I wanted a visit I declined and said I would see her after baby discharged from midwives as at the time it was my third. Now on my 4th and my health visitor is still in regular contact re my sons additional health needs so I doubt they will ask x

I don't like strangers in my home as I feel that everyone and their uncle turns up when I've not managed any house work that day but when it's a gleaming show home only I see it lol.

The gp surgeries don't do the appointments. But they do rent out rooms to the midwifery sevice in many areas. Why the midwife is there isn't particularly relevant to the patient though other than making sure they call the right number.

Thankfully my drs surgery is less than 10 minute walk away from work/my house so no need for hours of travel so it's not inconvenient to go there for my medical appointments

If that midwife doesn't have a clinic booked in your GP surgery that week there isn't much they can do though is there?