what is the point of a HV!!!

[kelly29]

today was the 1st time i'd attended baby clinic, seeing as maddie is my 4th there's not much info i really need, and i have you guys our hv with my 1st, was lovely in many way's, couldn't do enough to help and most of them back then were lovely,but that was 10 yrs ago!! this time i have seen a hv when lo was nb, not seen one since! she was a complete tit banging on about bf and how she did it for like forever! really making me feel uncomfortable as bf was all new to me kinda forcing it upon me as i ff my other 3! well today not one of them asked me if i was ok? how lo was doing nothing? i cant see the point in having them i really cant? either they think they know everything? or they couldn't give a toss!! surely to be a hv you should be good with people? having a caring nature etc? i hate to think if i was actually having problems they wouldn't even notice they don't know that i have other kids by looking in my red bk, i just think if i was a new mum (for the 1st time) i would be pretty upset that no one botherd with me i'm quite upset about it but hey iv'e got 4 kids so i guess i don't need any advice or just a hello!! sometimes its nice to talk to someone that supposabley know's all about babies!! when you have a young baby its nice to be reassured that your lo is doing great!! or to see if everything is good? it was like a convayer belt, baby clothes off, weighed, bye see ya!!! for me anyway what a waste of money they are!! as another poster said i'm NOT SAYING SORRY FOR MY RANT

 

[hels08]

Hv visited me once when LO was 2 weeks old, just went through a questionnaire then left. Took her to baby clinic last week to be weighed, they just weighed her then we went. Thinks thats pretty normal nowadays!!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Sad really because it's a job that if done properly, could make a really massive difference. (IMO anyway! I am considering it as a career change!)

 

[starrybean]

It's a shame you had such a pants experience. I feel really lucky as my hv is absolutely fantastic, I think I'm in the minority though

 

[Celesse]

A lot of the Health Visitor role is now Child Protection. They are quite possibly the only professional that a baby will see between being discharged from the midwife and starting school. If that baby isn't lucky enough to have reasonably intelligent, loving and caring parents then it will be the HV who picks up on this and make sure the family is referred the places they need to get the help they need.

 

[hels08]

I only ever saw a health visitor once with my 1st child aswell, just the 2 week old visit then never saw her again

 

[sarahchops86]

My HV made out she was always available for any worries, if LO was ill etc I could give her a quick call blah blah
Well my LO was ill for the first time last month, had a fever of 39+ for 3 days and obviously I had took her to the doctors and all but she started getting a rash all over and I could'nt get an appt with the doctor til that evening.
I rang the HV to see if I should be worried that LO hadn't ate anything or drank much or if i should just offer her as much water as she would take (I sorta knew the answer but wanted confirmation iykwim) and they said they would ring me back as soon as she was back in the office and she would probably pop out to see Lo. Well Im sure you can guess by this that she didn't call back. For a week and a half!! LOL She left a message on the answerphone asking about LO and saying she had been too busy to call. MEH!

 

[angel2010]

Sorry you had a crappy experience. It is always nice to have some reassurance. We don't have HVs here and I am kind of glad because they sound miserable (from most).

 

[bobloblaw]

Sad really because it's a job that if done properly, could make a really massive difference. (IMO anyway! I am considering it as a career change!)

I totally agree. I think they could provide a great source of information on up to date regulations, research, etc. Especially when there are so many emotive news reports about breast feeding, etc. It would be great to have someone supportive there to help you make informed decisions.

I understand that time/resource constraints make this difficult, but it's such a shame. In my experience their visits have just been a box ticking exercise.

I do worry about people who don't have access to this forum!

 

[starlove123]

Completely with you! The opinion I have of all the various HVs I seen is very negative. I get all of my support from forums like this.

 

[jojo_b]

It sucks that so many seem useless, I adore mine! She's wonderful, a proper mum figure and really full of common sense.

 

[Mrs Mayhem]

I have come to realise that the point of my HV, like many others is threefold:

1. To make you feel as inadequate as possible
2. To piss you off at any opportunity
3. To make you feel like they don't have enough time for you

I know there are some great ones out there, but mine is just awful, have had some bad experiences with her, mainly because she presumes that because of my profession I know everything there is to know. I have pointed out several times that I don't.

Like some others have said, it could be a fantastic career and you could really help some people out there. I just don't think mine cares anymore!

 

[kelly29]

Sad really because it's a job that if done properly, could make a really massive difference. (IMO anyway! I am considering it as a career change!)

I totally agree. I think they could provide a great source of information on up to date regulations, research, etc. Especially when there are so many emotive news reports about breast feeding, etc. It would be great to have someone supportive there to help you make informed decisions.

I understand that time/resource constraints make this difficult, but it's such a shame. In my experience their visits have just been a box ticking exercise.

I do worry about people who don't have access to this forum!

honestly, i don't think i would have got through bf without you guys this place is a god send my oh thinks i'm nuts for coming on here just someone to hear your worries makes all the difference in the world i thought that some kind of care would be in there job description lol

 

[marymoomin]

I truly cant abide my HV.
The midwifes were great, but the HV is truly useless and nasty.

 

[lolababes]

Whats a health visitor

Oh yeah its that woman that came and told me she wouldnt discharge me from home visits when LO was about 4wk old as I scored too high on that test they do

I have been ringing and leaving messages for weeks now and not heard a thing!!!

 

[leoniebabey]

Now i'm in 2 minds with this

my HV is not good but she's not bad either. Im not paticulary keen on her as a person but she can be helpful.
Here we have a 2 week check, a 6 week check and a 4 months check but with me being a single parent i had 2 other visits and then will have one at 10-12 months

She's the kinda HV that will advise something but wont bang on if you dont do it eg(breastfeeding) she didnt push it onto me or anything after i'd said i wasnt going to be.
Also when LO has constipation she sent me a list of good foods to offer.

but... i despise the ones at the weigh ins!
I explained how LO cried all the time and all she said was yeah you have to be tough and walked off, hardleys helpful ey!
They just seem to weigh him and thats that because he's gaining and is doing fine they dont think to ask if anythings up even though it could be!

 

[summer rain]

Mine is nice, but a bit ditzy and while she supports BF she doesn't really understand how it works. With my second eldest I had a fantastic one, he had allergies which meant he didn't gain weight well for a few months and she urged me to carry on BF and got me a referral for allergy tests; she used to come to my GP surgery at the time and suddenly stopped and a notice was put on the GP surgery door saying she won't be coming again and don't ask about it basically. I think because she would push for referrals for allergies etc and apparently these days GPs have to foot some of the bill for referring people. I've come across many useless and horrible ones though; such as the one who 'reported' us for home educating when legally and ethically she had no right to do that, she could have easily discussed it with me and advised me to report to the LEA myself (though again there is no legal obligation for parents to do so) but she didn't mention a thing and next thing I know I get a letter from the local authority with the same mispelled spelling of our surname as she used on the records when she came to update them. I've also come across some really horrible unsupportive ones and ended up leaving the clinic in tears a few times which is why I don't attend any baby clinics anymore and my GP fully supports this.

 

[sapphire1]

Aww, it's a shame so many of you have bad experiences with your HVs. I don't know how I'd have managed without mine. I'm always ringing her about LO and she always gets back to me really fast, or gets the doc to ring me. She has alwayd been really supportive of my choices too, and is not at all judgemental. I think if it wasn't for her taking me seriously, my LO wouldn't have been diagnosed with silent reflux so quickly. The other one at my clinic is nice too, a bit ditsy, but nice with it. Seems like I'm in the minority though.

 

[pinklizzy]

My HV has been fab and we see her a lot because we're in the surestart postcode area, slightly randomly allocated!
I can see the other side though as my mum is a HV and has been in the area for 26 years now-she's visiting women with their babies that she used to weigh at clinic!
There are two of them in her office and they are covering the area of 2 HVs each but due to cuts they are only employed for a certain number of hours, making it difficult to give the best care. I'm sure there are rubbish ones out there, just as there are MWs and doctors.
I've mentioned to my mum the issues that some ladies on here have with their HVs and she was really upset and angry that mums are being treated so badly.

 

[FirstBean]

Yeh my HV came to my house when Ollie was 2weeks old and did some form filling and then left and have never seen her again. I take Ollie to baby clinic to get weighed and thats all they do weigh him fill in his red book they dont ask how he is doing or anything.