is encouraged with direct midwife referral to obstetrician being available at all times. In the case of home births all postnatal care is provided in the home by the community midwife. For births in hospital - with either the midwife, GP or obstetrician as the lead professional - initial postnatal care is provided by midwives and support staff on the maternity wards. Hospital stays are getting shorter with many women going home within a few hours of birth but generally 12-48 hours are the more normal lengths of stay. On transfer home care is undertaken by the community midwife for at least 10 days following the birth. Care can be extended to up to 28 days if a particular clinical or social need is identified. Liaison between the Health Visitor and community midwife usually takes place during the antenatal period with Health Visitors making contact with the mother in pregnancy. Following the birth of the baby most Health Visitors arrange a primary visit within 21 days of the birth, which coincides well with the handover of care from the midwives. 3. Assessment of the parent(s) and the potential risk to the child This section will usually be completed by the Social Worker – but they will need to draw on help from a range of other professionals regarding some aspects of it. Particular care should be taken when assessing risks where the prospective parents are themselves children i.e, under the age of 18 years and in particular if they are themselves Children Looked After. Attention should be given to evaluating the quality and quantity of support that will be available within the extended family, the needs of the parent(s) and how these will be met, the context and circumstances in which the baby was conceived, and the wishes and feelings of the child (or children) who are to become parents. If the perspective parent is a Child Looked After then attention should be paid to their long term plan and how assessing for independence should incorporate the thinking of ‘independence with responsibility for a child’. Questions should consider: Partner support Whether this was a planned or unplanned pregnancy Feelings of mother about being pregnant Feelings of partner / putative father about the pregnancy Any issues about dietary intake Any issues about medicines or drugs taken before or during pregnancy Alcohol consumption Smoking Previous obstetric history Current health status of other children
is encouraged with direct midwife referral to obstetrician being available at all times. In the case of home births all postnatal care is provided in the home by the community midwife. For births in hospital - with either the midwife, GP or obstetrician as the lead professional - initial postnatal care is provided by midwives and support staff on the maternity wards. Hospital stays are getting shorter with many women going home within a few hours of birth but generally 12-48 hours are the more normal lengths of stay. On transfer home care is undertaken by the community midwife for at least 10 days following the birth. Care can be extended to up to 28 days if a particular clinical or social need is identified. Liaison between the Health Visitor and community midwife usually takes place during the antenatal period with Health Visitors making contact with the mother in pregnancy. Following the birth of the baby most Health Visitors arrange a primary visit within 21 days of the birth, which coincides well with the handover of care from the midwives. 3. Assessment of the parent(s) and the potential risk to the child This section will usually be completed by the Social Worker – but they will need to draw on help from a range of other professionals regarding some aspects of it. Particular care should be taken when assessing risks where the prospective parents are themselves children i.e, under the age of 18 years and in particular if they are themselves Children Looked After. Attention should be given to evaluating the quality and quantity of support that will be available within the extended family, the needs of the parent(s) and how these will be met, the context and circumstances in which the baby was conceived, and the wishes and feelings of the child (or children) who are to become parents. If the perspective parent is a Child Looked After then attention should be paid to their long term plan and how assessing for independence should incorporate the thinking of ‘independence with responsibility for a child’. Questions should consider: Partner support Whether this was a planned or unplanned pregnancy Feelings of mother about being pregnant Feelings of partner / putative father about the pregnancy Any issues about dietary intake Any issues about medicines or drugs taken before or during pregnancy Alcohol consumption Smoking Previous obstetric history Current health status of other children