6 Week Postnatal Check Up

What happens at the six week check up? I know that before we went I did not have a clue what to expect.

For the first few weeks after the birth your life is full of midwives, health visitors, hearing tests, visitors and before you can blink it is time to book in for your post natal 6 week check up for you and the baby.

Our life has been pretty hectic lately so my six week check up ended up being when Amélie was 7 weeks and 5 days. I had no idea what to expect but all three of us went along to see the doctor.

It was a pretty harmless visit. The doctor asked me how I was feeling and how we were coping with parenthood. I had had stitches, so the doctor checked the area where the stitches were. She felt my tummy to check that the uterus had fully gone down and checked my blood pressure. I had bled for over six weeks and was anaemic for the first month after the birth as I had lost quite a lot of blood during labour, so it was good to get the all clear from the doctor.

Amélie was then checked over. The doctor checked her heart and lungs with a stethoscope and checked her hips for dislocation by rotating the legs, her back and spine for any abnormalities. She then looked into Amélies eyes with a penlight to check for cataracts, reflexes and focusing.

We were then asked about any concerns that we may have and the doctor then went on to explain more about the immunisations that Amélie was to have in a couple of weeks time.

I found that the visits to the Health Visitor every three weeks or so were much more informative and exciting than the visit to the doctor. The Health Visitor weighs the baby, measures her length and in general seems to be more clued up on baby issues.