Postnatal home visits: planning rounds when birth dates move

Postnatal home visits can't be booked on a fixed date months ahead, because nobody knows when the baby will come. The practical approach: keep home-visit slots in your week, grouped by area, and book the first visits yourself as soon as the parents tell you the baby is born. Before the birth, parents know how to reach you; after the birth, you create the bookings from your calendar with their address in the note, and they receive a confirmation for each visit.

Lengths are examples. On Book, each service has a name, an optional description and a price, and each slot belongs to one service with its own start and end. Keep home visits and practice visits as separate services, so you know from the booking whether you're travelling.

Driving across the region between two visits eats your day. Group home visits by area and by day, for example the north of your area on Monday and Thursday mornings, the south on Tuesday and Friday. Create home-visit slots on those days, repeated weekly until an end date, with enough gap between them for the drive. Book doesn't know addresses, so the travel time is yours to plan.

You can keep these slots off your public page by creating them when you need them, or leave them open and say in the description that they are for families already followed by you. Either way, you arrange the first visit directly with the parents.

During pregnancy follow-up, explain how postnatal visits will work: parents let you know when the baby is born and when they're home, and you book the first visit with them. Write it in the description of your antenatal services too, so it's in writing. Book doesn't send messages for them, so give them the phone number or email to use.

When the parents call, pick a slot on the right day for their area and create the booking from your calendar. First and last name are required; enter the parent's email so they receive a confirmation with a calendar file, and their phone so you can call on the way. In the note, write what you need for the visit:

The note appears in the calendar file the parents receive, so keep health information in your records. At each visit, book the next one before you leave, on a day when you're in that area.

Once mother and baby are settled, some follow-up can happen at your practice. Those visits don't depend on your round, so they can be open online: a "Postnatal check at the practice" service with slots on the days you're there, repeated weekly until an end date. Parents choose a time that fits feeds and naps, and you keep home visits for the first days, when travelling is hardest for the family.

A home visit is booked for the family, not per person: twins, a partner or an older sibling at home need no extra booking. If a visit will take longer, for twins or a first breastfeeding session, book a longer slot or the next slot as well, and note it so your round stays realistic.

A family may be readmitted, or your day may run late. Reschedule from your bookings list and call the parents: Book doesn't email clients about changes, and they can't move bookings online. With calendar sync on Google, iPhone or Mac, the day's visits are on your phone before you set off.

Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited bookings and services, no commission, no contract. It doesn't handle medical records or payments.