Is it me or is the postnatal check a bit of a joke?
Maybe in other parts of the UK this is a thorough check of mother and baby by a caring professional…rather than a colossal waste of time, but that has never been my experience.
After four children, I have now clearly had four of these appointments across eight years – each one has been more of a waste of time than the one before but the last one was a complete joke.
The questions I was asked were as follows:
1) Did you have a normal delivery? Fair enough, standard question.
2) How are your kidneys? My what? Erm…Okay I think
3) Are you sleeping well? No – I have a newborn baby
4) How is your mood? In general? Or right now?
These questions were asked by a disinterested locum GP who didn’t even make eye contact – I was given the choice to re-arrange my appointment but having already been given three different appointments on three consecutive days for myself and my baby because everything apparently can’t be done at once, I could do without seeing the inside of the surgery again for a while…and we weren’t even ill!
How was my mood? Really? Not so good after this waste of time appointment!
It baffles me why people are allowed to waste our time like this but then all the midwives and health visitors are so keen for you to get booked in for these appointments…for what purpose exactly?
Surely these appointments are an opportunity for health professionals to tackle all sorts of things and with a bit of thought and co-ordination the experience and outcome could be different for everyone! We are constantly being told about the pressures on GP surgeries for appointments, yet with a bit of smart thinking this wouldn’t be such a problem.
Just think about all the things that could be dealt with in one well-coordinated appointment.
I was okay, but many people are not, and I worry that issues get missed all the time.
Is it me? How was your postnatal check?
4 comments
I’m dying to know how you asked your kidneys how they were – if you can do this, there is no point to getting a medical degree anymore! What a silly question!
I got asked a zillion times how my mood was by the same person in the same consultation with the midwife with my first son. I’m not sure why I wasn’t convincing enough the first few times. My husband even started to answer for me in the end, which then made the midwife ask even more as he was ‘answering for me’ a sure sign he must be domestically abusing me…or not, he was just didn’t think she could hear me.
I totally understand they have to pick up on postnatal depression but maybe just be sure to open your ears when your a medical professional rather than just ask stupid questions (and I should know I am one…and probably still ask stupid questions!) #effitfriday
Oh dear – I can imagine that got tricky and led to more questions. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Not entirely sure how you answer about your kidneys but that’s impressive! This just shows how lucky I have been with my postnatal care both times.
Thanks for linking with #effitfriday
Glad to hear you have been! Thanks for reading 🙂