Do you think health visitors know best?

[Kimmer]

I haven't seen any HV or midwife since Skye was less than a month old. I find them patronising and annoying, so I've avoided them.

Today, me and Skye went to a baby group where there was a health visitor. She wanted to know why I hadn't been taking her to see a HV at all. She asked me about Skyes 8 month check (she didn't have it because I was ill, I told them to re arrange but they never did.. then I moved house and just forgot to chase it up)

They did the check there and everything was fine. Until she started talking about Skye's milk intake. I told her she has about 4/5 8oz bottles in 24 hours.. She said this was too many and she should be on no more than 20oz a day.

She then asked about Skye's eating habits, I said she has breakfast, a small lunch (she really isn't into lunch at all) and a bigger dinner. That's her biggest meal. HV said this is wrong and she should have three small meals a day with snacks.


So, would you change a perfectly happy babies 'routine' of milk and food or just shrug it off?

Sorry it's long

 

[JASMAK]

we don't have 'health visitors', but we have 'public health nurses', and do I think they 'know best'? How could they possibly know best? They don't know me, my baby, my life, our circumstanes, nor why we do the things the way we do. They have 'standard' medical advice and current information. Many aren't even parents themselves!!!

 

[dovehouse]

if you feel your baba is ok and happy and healthy, then i would ignore the hv, personally i have foudn the majority of hv's ive seen rubbish and waste of time! been told all sorts of nonsense, which i have ignored, but only after having googled and got other opinions!!!
x

 

[Kimmer]

we don't have 'health visitors', but we have 'public health nurses', and do I think they 'know best'? How could they possibly know best? They don't know me, my baby, my life, our circumstanes, nor why we do the things the way we do. They have 'standard' medical advice and current information. Many aren't even parents themselves!!!

That's what I thought. When I told my mum about the advice, she said 'well, they do know best. Just do as she says'

I don't think I know many people that follow their advice!

 

[lucy_x]

Nope, Mums know best.

HVs can advise, But its not always the best.

 

[Vinushka]

as far as I've seen most of them know less than nothing and I'm learning to bite m tongue on weigh in days...

 

[jakey1]

No I don't think they know best at all. They just have guidelines to follow and not all babies conform to textbook theories so I would just let her advice go straight over your head. If Skye is happy with her current routine, feeds etc then carry on with what you are doing - your her mummy and you know best. You've done pretty well on your insticts for the last 10 months so you must be doing something right x

 

[kelly29]

i take noooooooooooo notice at all!!! mum know's best for sure !!! life is not in a book!!!
hv my end suck all apart from one lovely one ( do-gooders!!!) xx

 

[mummyclo]

Ignore her, do what you think is best for you baby

 

[chubbymonkey2]

I don't think they know best at all, it depends which one you speak to to what advice you get. I do what i think is best for my baby.

 

[Kalah]

I think they may well know a lot more than they're allowed to share with you and are probably only allowed to tell you the "guidelines".

 

[ballena]

The HV's I've seen have been fantastic - but then, they all have the attitude that Mum knows their own baby best... that they can advise and help when needed, but like one of them said to me, 'If you and baba are happy, then I'm happy with that!'. I've never experienced one who 'told me off', so I can see why that would be different!!

 

[Tegans Mama]

Nope. Tell them to shove their shocking advice where the sun don't shine

Our HV is a good one but I've always been great at making my opinion known - I'm her parent and I'll parent MY way, regardless of what BS she tries to feed me. Bear in mind YOU spend 24/7 with Skye. She's met her ONCE. Not every child is the same.

 

[justarascal]

I haven't seen any HV or midwife since Skye was less than a month old. I find them patronising and annoying, so I've avoided them.

Today, me and Skye went to a baby group where there was a health visitor. She wanted to know why I hadn't been taking her to see a HV at all. She asked me about Skyes 8 month check (she didn't have it because I was ill, I told them to re arrange but they never did.. then I moved house and just forgot to chase it up)

They did the check there and everything was fine. Until she started talking about Skye's milk intake. I told her she has about 4/5 8oz bottles in 24 hours.. She said this was too many and she should be on no more than 20oz a day.

She then asked about Skye's eating habits, I said she has breakfast, a small lunch (she really isn't into lunch at all) and a bigger dinner. That's her biggest meal. HV said this is wrong and she should have three small meals a day with snacks.


So, would you change a perfectly happy babies 'routine' of milk and food or just shrug it off?

Sorry it's long

I think that HV see each baby as the same and don't take into account that each family works a bit differently and not all babies follow the same "plan".

 

[pink.crazy]

I just think "Blah" a lot of the time when it comes to HV's.. some are very nice, ours isn't!!
I go with Leo as far as meals and milk are concerned.. he has 3 x 7oz bottles a day plus 3 meals. No snacks becaus I don't feel that there's time between everything else, he'd constantly be eating lol!
He's only on 21oz milk a day because that's what he "tells" me he needs, if he needed another 7oz he'd have it no problem.
A lot of what they say... I take with a pinch of salt, yes they've read the textbooks, done case studies etc.. but these are our babies, our mothers instincts tell us what they need, they're all different and a "stranger" couldn't possibly know what's best for your baby (imo..)

 

[bobloblaw]

No. A mum with the ability to make well informed decisions knows best.

A HV can be a blessing or a curse. But at the end of the day, they are working within the boundaries of guidelines designed for the majority of babies. And every baby is different.

 

[blueX4]

Your routine sounds just fine to me, I dont know what she is talking about to be honest. I listen to what they say and decide what's best. I take a lot of what they say with a pinch of salt and to be honest, I havent been told the same thing twice when it comes to feeding, they have all given me conflicting advice. I was told after weeks of no sleep and I finally had 5 solid hours that I should have woke him up, lol. I said ok, walked out of the clinic and laughed. Then I was told not to wean till 6mts, then within a week he should be having 3 big bowls full of food a day because he was now 6mts old? No they dont know best, mum knows best!

 

[Ozzieshunni]

I'm dreading HVs because of LOs heart condition. They honestly won't know anything about heart block babies as it is a rare condition. I'll take the word of my son's pediatric cardiologist over an HV any day.

 

[Kimmer]

I'm glad it's not just me that thinks this way then! She really annoyed me. When I first saw her she said 'oh I've never seen you before, are you new to the area?', I said 'no, I just don't come here'. She looked very shocked. She was questioning me about why I haven't been taking Skye to see any HV, I said I just haven't felt the need to.

Hv's advice always seems to be 'make them eat more'.. no matter what the problem is.

As an above poster said, she's 10 months old now. I've managed to keep her alive with no HV's so far, so I must be doing something right!

I just know my mums gonna be on my back now

 

[louandivy]

All my HVs are lovely but I definitely don't take their advice very much! One told me that Ivy ought to be sleeping through the night when she was 4 months In fact I haven't even seen one since.