Health visitors?

[Mango401]

I have noticed a few people mentioning health visitors on here, and a few of my friends have spoken about them. May sound silly but I had never heard of them before now! Who are they and what do they do? And how long do they stay with you for? I've heard mixed reviews about them, and especially about the ones in my area! But still not clear on who they are and what they do!x

[Hidden]

They Come and see u when the midwives discharge u think it's 10 days they just see if ur ok and if u need any help or advice u... they have never been in my face just pop along and say they are at the local clinic if I need anything u can take ur baby for weigh ins at the clinic or if u have any concerns then u can give them a call they usually come from a nursing background. .. mine was ok not too in ur face at all x

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Yh mine came to check James over....weight, that he looks well and healthy colour and that I'm ok as well. I'm lucky to have a very nice and supportive hv and now she knows everything is good, it's down to me to attend clinics if need be etc. x

[Hidden]

Once the midwife has finished seeing u then u usually get a visit between 10-14 days, Mine came yesterday and was really nice. Filled in some of Finleys red book..took some measurements. ..gave me some leaflets about local groups and if I needed any help or advice then cud go to clinics etc and told me about immunisations and booked his hearing test. Granted they r not all good and some of them like to judge but this one I hav seems gd. X

[NanKing]

I have had a pretty mixed bag of HVs over 4 babies & 3 areas. Most have been okay (if a bit patronizing) some have made me wonder if they know one end of a baby from another(!) It is comforting to have someone reassuring there in the early days and they should make you feel confident as a parent IMO, if they don't ask to see someone else! They don't hang around long in my area but it is nice to have the contact when you go to the clinic for weighing etc. The one thing which mine & other people's experiences have taught me is that I would not recommend taking their advice on breastfeeding unless they are additionally qualified as a breastfeeding counsellor - they seem to come out with some really outdated ideas and generally not have a lot of confidence in it as a natural process. Once your MW has stopped visiting there are always breastfeeding counsellors (NCTs are really good) available and they are the experts really.

[Mango401]

So do they just come once to check all is okay?x

[DrFluffy]

Health Visitors are essentially community nurses with a special interest in child development. How often you see them depends on provision in your area and how often you feel you might need to see them. I saw ours twice at home, then felt I could contact them if I needed - they also have a drop in session once a week at a local clinic.

They DO NOT take over when you are discharged from midwifery, they have a completely different remit, although as most people are discharged from their MW at the same time they see their HV for the first time, it may seem that way - I actually saw our midwife post natally far more times than our HV.

[cheekymonkey3791]

Mines coming tomorrow following our discharge by the MW X