Health visitor appointment antenatally

[Nat78]

Hi,
I am currently 37 weeks pregnant and I've got a health visitor appointment tomorrow. My midwife said she didn't refer me and it's not common practice for them to see us before baby is born so was really confused. Now I'm panicking, I'm a first time mum, my partner can't get the day off work so my dad's coming over to be with me but I'm so worried. I do have anxiety but midwife has said this isn't something that should have flagged up for them to come.
Just looking for some reassurance as I'm worrying like crazy. Been running around making sure everything is perfect for baby even though we have a couple of weeks just to show I am capable of looking after her despite my partner working 12 hour shifts. Just so worried so if anyone has been in this situation, can you let me know what I can expect please?😣
Thank you if you got this far

Completely normal where I live.

It's just an intro to the service.

Yes totally normal where I live as well.

If your house looks normal and functional they won't check other rooms, other than the one you invite them in to sit down in and chat. Don't panic!

I’ve never heard of this happening where I am and I didn’t hear from HV at all until after my baby was born this year. That said though I would imagine at 37 weeks it surely is just an introduction, if they’d visited me at 37 weeks they wouldn’t have been able to check much as I didn’t really have anything set up or sorted yet, was still working full time etc!

It's normal in some areas and not so much in others.
Don't panic! It will be fine x

It's nothing to worry about. TBH I thought it was routine .... but might vary area to area. My visit was just them introducing themselves as a service asking general questions about your set up as a family, safety elements such as car seats, sleeping/cots etc.

Normal around here. I, and everyone in my NCT class, have had an antinatal visit. She just chatted about what the HV service does and gave some advice on feeding and safe sleep. We didn't leave the living room: she's not there to inspect the house

(And neither have my postnatal HVs either)

Health Visitor here.
Antenatal contact is part of the Healthy Child Programme which (ideally) should be offered to all families. Particularly if it is your first baby. It is just an introduction to the service and assess if there is any additional support you need in preparation for baby’s arrival.
Nothing to worry about! And congratulations!

We were offered this. HV visits are optional. I accepted with my first but declined with my second.

I didn't have an antenatal visit for my first baby, but I did for my second! We'd moved to the next town so I just assumed it was different areas doing things their way.

You'll be fine OP, please try not to stress yourself out too much over this

This is normal where I live too, it's just to introduce themselves and see that you're ok and so you can ask any questions. They'll probably give you advice on safe sleeping and feeding and things like that.
Try and look at it as something positive, they're not trying to catch you out.

Normal here too (south east). Please don't panic, he or she will be a fountain of knowledge for you. Enjoy

I assumed it was normal near me, but it turns out I was the only one in my NCT group to get a visit, but I didn't realise this until about 6 months after. Mine was because my mum died 2 years before. I wasn't expecting the questioning around it so was caught off guard. I didn't have anxiety, depression, struggles around bereavement, I think it must have been triggered purely because my mum had died relatively recently.

Totally normal. I had my first phone call at 31 weeks, the HV team in my area are clearly very keen

She was lovely and pointed me in the direction of breastfeeding support groups, antenatal classes, apps to download etc. She will be our HV when baby is here so it’ll be nice to put a face to the voice and not have to meet someone brand new a few days PP and tell them my life story, as she already has all the info she could ever want about me and DP!

Totally normal here too - I was alone for my first visit and it was around 37 weeks. That's when I got my red book too

It's normal where I live. They just want a chance to meet you, introduce themselves and see if there's anything they should be aware of.

Reframe this in your head. The HV is there to support you not to judge you!! It's not their job to assess your suitably as a parent that would be social services, if there were concerns you are an unfit parent you would be getting a visit from a social worker. That is not the case here. Maybe you do need additional support as it's had this effect on you with anxiety but if you are uncomfortable with it then this is not a compulsory service- you can opt out. It's not that uncommon to opt out either so doing so won't be raising red flags for them xx

Normal for my area too. I got away without having them by having the baby first instead.

I had an awful experience with a HV who basically pushed me to breastfeed until my baby ended up dehydrated in hospital as I wasn't producing enough. For my second, I refused to allow them in. Absolutely nothing happened and I now have a healthy 10 year old ;)

Completely normal in my area. The health visitor explained that it was to avoid overloading new parents with information in those early newborn days.

Thank you for sharing that. This is my first and I was a bit worried as my partners at work so my dad's going to come round to be with me so I don't feel as awkward.
I have heard they can be pushy but you gotta do what's best for you, fed is best! Glad you and your 10 year old are ok now though☺️

Hey, thank you so much for your comment. I have anxiety but it's due to a car crash but ever since I found out I was pregnant, it's been mentioned constantly which is why I was super worried it was something to judge my parenting. Thank you though, it's put my mind at ease completely knowing it is normal and they're here to support me. It's hard when they don't fully explain especially when I have no idea what a HV fully does😣. Thank you everyone, I feel so much better now

Although if it was normal in the OP's area wouldn't her midwife have explained that, rather than just saying that she hadn't referred her?

I had an antenatal appointment and another woman in our NCT group had it but most didn't. I have bipolar and the other woman had anxiety/depression.
It was low key and just and introduction into what the HV service can offer. It's much more than weighing baby. My HV was very supportive throughout my postnatal depression. I had listening appointments with my HV, she arranged for me to have baby massage course at home, she referred me to for therapy with the parenting service. I later moved and when my daughter was 3.5 my daughters paediatrician referred us to the HV again for support managing my daughters reflux and allergies. I had an 8 week course of counselling with my HV.

Update

So I had my appointment today and honestly I just felt judged the whole time. It was like a test to ensure I was ready for baby. I honestly felt so deflated after the appointment that I'm not sure I want to see them again.
At the end of the appointment she asked if baby was planned - I said no (because she wasn't) and her whole attitude changed towards me. Just because she wasn't planned doesn't mean we love her any less. But long story short, felt so uncomfortable and not sure I want to go through that again