[OneProudMum]

When both of my children were born and we left the hospital we had a visit from a Dom. Midwife who checked in on us and even checked our bedding for baby. Is this some sort of requirement or is it a service?
Can you decline the service?



This post has been edited by OneProudMum: 05/01/2013, 08:47 AM

[akkiandmalli]

It depends on the hospital. I know if your doing well at Mercy they come once but if thre are issues they will come again.
Declining ? I think you have to mention at the hospital when you have your baby.
Is there a reason you don't want a Dom to come?

[Phascogale]

Yes you can certainly decline. The hospital won't mind. A lot of hospitals provide this because of the shorter stays. It's more prevalent in the public system. Some private hospitals also provide this but only for earlier than expected discharges.

However if you have a child that's not breastfeeding well or there are some other issues then it would probably be wise to have the appointment otherwise it will be a few more days (or a week or two) before you see the MCHN.

ETA: I had a fairly good experience with DD3 (didn't get the visites with the others). They never checked my bedding or anything. They were more worried about the baby. With DD3 she was having daily blood tests for her bilirubin levels.

But other visits that I know usually involve the newborn screen (as mum's left before this was done) and making sure that breastfeeding is going okay. And just asking the mum about how she's going. But like someone mentioned, it may very well be down to the individual midwife as to what's done.

If someone does come out and you aren't happy with them, make a complaint or speak to the NUM. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but rather feedback for the midwife to modify her practice. It may be that other mums feel the same but just haven't said anything.

This post has been edited by Phascogale: 05/01/2013, 09:13 AM

[dirtgirl]

Of course you can decline the service if you want to. When you are released from the hospital, you are no longer officially under the hospital's care, however the at-home service is provided as additional support for new mothers.
I really appreciated the visit from the Dom nurse...but I'm sure if you tell them they you don't want a visit, they will oblige.

[Madeline's Mum]

I wish I had of declined. That woman did nothing but criticise my breast feeding, give misinformation re breast feeding and make me feel like a failure for DS not gaining enough weight.

But my experience could have been completely different had I had of had a different midwife come to visit.

[OneProudMum]

I found part of her service beneficial but I also felt part of it as a bit of an invasion. Perhaps I just struck a bad one.

She gave me lectures about having indoor pets etc.

There was also a questionnaire that we had to go through at the hospital prior to the midwife coming with questions about weapons, drugs etc. which I found odd.

This post has been edited by OneProudMum: 05/01/2013, 09:17 AM

[kjdean1988]

I was asked to sign a "Consent to Contact" form. Basically it was to approve the maternity outreach program contacting me after being in hospital. They came twice. Day 2 & 5 of being home and all they did was weigh DS and check my incision from c-section. Im sure your well within your right to decline them coming as anything they do you can have down at your 6 week check up. I probably won't have them next time. I did this time as i didn't know what to expect (FTM)

[Miss Cookie]

I found part of her service beneficial but I also felt part of it as a bit of an invasion. Perhaps I just struck a bad one.

She gave me lectures about having indoor pets etc.

There was also a questionnaire that we had to go through at the hospital prior to the midwife coming with questions about weapons, drugs etc. which I found odd.

They ask about weapons and drugs for OH&S risk assessing for the midwife. They need to make sure they won't be mauled by a dog or bet at risk from people in the home.

[ElysianLyric]

I really appreciated the at-home visits after both kids were born, but I was lucky enough to have great midwives each time.

We were part of the early discharge program with both, and I liked having the peace and comfort of being at home rather than in a busy ward, with an hour or so of uninterrupted time with the midwife to ask all my questions and have all the usual medical checks.

Neither time did the midwives seem concerned with my living arrangements - it was more about checking my recovery, making sure the baby was well, offering feeding/settling advice (super helpful the first time around) and doing the normal range of infant blood tests and checks. They didn't discharge me til I felt ready, and were happy to continue visits had I been struggling with anything. I had a friend continue to see her midwife for weeks while she navigated a torn nipple, thrush and mastitis with her first. She really appreciated the care she received.

But as everyone agrees, it will totally depend on the midwife you get - so often they're fabulous which means it's really disappointing to come up against one who isn't helpful or encouraging. Just like with labour and birth, I guess - a great midwife makes all the difference to your experience.

[soontobegran]

You can decline but ensure you make it quite clear when you are in hospital though.

I did Dom for a year once when the Dom midwife was on maternity leave and I was always welcomed with open arms and heaps of questions. It was actually pretty hard to get out of some homes but these were mostly first time mums. Experienced mums don't necessarily need the service as rule and I found are less likely to take aboard any advice as they have found their appropriate way to manage.

I understand that not all visiting midwives are created equal but if they check your baby bedding it is not because they are out to catch you out it is because it is their duty of care to ensure you are following SIDS recommendations. There is also a duty of care to ensure that you are well, that you have food, that you have support and that your home is generally a safe environment for everyone. You can imagine how it would be to ignore the fact that the baby was sleeping in a bassinette with a bumper and a mountain of soft toys only for it to die from SIDS.
I know some people feel offended, one of my DD's felt she was having her common sense questioned but after I explained why she asked what she did she felt better about it.
The questions with regards to weapons/drugs and pets are routine. Hospitals can not send out their staff into dangerous situations. I worked in Dom before this type of red tape was brought in and some of the places I went to were definitely extremely frightening.
The District Nurse service also has the same questionaire, it is routine and is not implying that they think you are dodgy.

Just remember, mention this before you leave hospital, save the Dom nurse from travelling for an hour only to find you are not home/will not open the door because there will be someone else who could really have benefited from that wasted time