Following your transfer home from hospital your community midwifery team will contact you via the telephone within 36 hours of transfer home to offer you a face to face or telephone consultation appointment. Your face-to-face appointment will be either at your local postnatal clinic or in the home depending on your risk assessment over the telephone.  

Please ensure you inform the staff on the ward of your correct discharge address and telephone number prior to transfer home.  

On average you will receive 3 community midwife contacts in the postnatal period depending on your individual care needs. The midwife will be monitoring your physical, psychological, and social wellbeing throughout this period. The physical development and attachment of the newborn will be included during this period.  

Part of the monitoring will include Neonatal Jaundice, which is a common occurrence in the postnatal period and is usually harmless. It causes yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes and will be monitored at home by the midwife /maternity care assistant (MCA). For more information, please following the link below. 

Newborn jaundice - Informaton from the NHS about newborn jaundcice. 

On Day 5 of life every baby is offered the Newborn blood spot screening (NBBS), also known as the heel prick test. This will be carried out by the Midwife or MCA at your day 5 appointment. 

The NBBS involves taking a blood sample from your baby heel to find out if your baby has 1 of 9 rare but serious health conditions. Most babies will not have any of these conditions but, for the few who do, the benefits of screening are enormous. Prompt treatment can improve their health and prevent on going ill health issues.  

For more information, please following the link below:  

Newborn blood spot test - Information from the NHS about newborn blood spot test. 

At the day 5 appointment your midwife / MCA will offer to weigh your baby. It is common for infants to lose some weight during the early days of life this weight loss usually stops after about 3 or 4 days of life and most infants have returned to their birth weight by 3 weeks of age (NICE, 2017). 

Within 10 days following the birth of your baby the health visitor will contact you and make arrangement for continuing with your care in the postnatal period. The community midwife will transfer the care to your Health Visitor at this time.  

It is important that you have your postnatal follow up with your GP within 6-8 weeks in the postnatal period.