Post Natal Care
Care in the Hospital
Once you have had your baby and got over the overwhelming joy of the event you will need to spend time getting to know one another and establish a feeding regime. You may be tired and in pain from the birth and therefore it will be important to get as much rest as possible. Therefore, following the birth of your baby you will stay on the Loveridge Ward until you and the midwives are happy that you are recovered and the baby is feeding well.
The hospital has a baby friendly accreditation from Unicef: www.babyfriendly.org.uk This means that they will give you the highest standard of care and support to enable you as a new mother to breastfeed successfully. See our breastfeeding section for more on this subject.
Care At Home
They will also perform the heel prick (Guthrie Test) test. This test is done between six days and two weeks after birth by which time your baby will be well established on milk feeds. Blood from the heel is analysed for conditions like cystic fibrosis, hypothyroidism and phenylketonurea. Blood is collected by pricking the baby's heel. This is then used to cover four circles on an absorbent card, which is then forwarded to the public health laboratory. Hence the more popular name the 'heel prick test'. The Guthrie test is used for the early diagnosis of cystic fibrosis and hypothyroidism. It is also used as the test for Phenylketonuria (PKU), which is a rare condition affecting approximately one baby in ten thousand. If left untreated this condition can cause mental retardation in the baby so early diagnosis is vital. For more information on this please contact your midwife.
If all is well with you and your baby then you will be discharged by the community midwives into the care of the team of health visitors. The health visitor for your parish will contact you once they have received your information from the midwives, and will arrange to come to your home for their initial consultation. They will go through your child’s record book with you at this initial visit. This is a red booklet that you keep as a record of your child’s development and health. They will also weigh your baby, address any concerns that you may have and perform the initial hearing test. Your health visitor will be your main contact point for key development milestone checks and you will visit them at the various clinics that they hold around the Island. Please find below the list of clinics for your reference and a leaflet all about the health visitors service.
Click here for more information on the health visitor service
Click here for information on the Health Visitor Clinics
Other areas of support:
Once you have got over the first few days and weeks with your baby you may be ready to venture out and about. If you are a first time parent then each task will feel huge, from the first time you go out for a walk to the shop with the pram, to the first trip in the car with the car seat etc. This is all very daunting and you will sometimes feel alone. In Guernsey we are very lucky as there are many groups and support networks available. Why not try our chatroom THE GUERNSEY GRAPEVINE where you can share tips or ask advice or look up a mother and toddler group in our what’s on guide. Whatever you do don’t feel alone.
Important Updates from Loveridge Ward
Tel: 725241, Loveridge Ward, if you have any queries regarding this information:
September 2010:
> We are now encouraging people to bring in their own babygrows and vests as we are only keeping a small stock of baby gowns for use on the ward.
> We have a new VBAC clinic (pronounced "vee-Back"). This is for ladies who have had a previous caesarean section and are pregnant again to discuss their choices for delivery for this pregnancy. They should be referred by their Obstetrician or can phone the ward and leave a message for the midwives who run this clinic.