Support from your health visitor for you and your baby

Support from your health visitor for you and your baby The Health Visiting Service supports families with a new baby or child under five-years-old by offering advice and guidance.

Your health visitor will see you at least two times after your baby is born, when your baby is around 10 days old and a further appointment at six to eight weeks following birth. There is also a developmental review between nine and 12 months of age. You can email healthvisitingappointments@nhs.net to change or amend an appointment or contact your local team for support.

Who’s in the team?

Our team includes community public health nurses, senior public health assistants and health visitors. Health visitors are registered nurses or midwives trained in the care and development of pre-school children. We work with midwives, GPs, paediatricians, local children's centres and voluntary organisations to provide the best possible care to you and your family.

Contacts with your health visitor

New birth

Six to eight-weeks

This will take place in a clinic or at your home. This visit is an opportunity for you and your partner to discuss you and your baby’s physical health needs, explore your emotional health and wellbeing, your baby’s routines and development, feeding, immunisations and answer any questions you may have.

Your health visitor will talk with you about how you’re feeling using a standard questionnaire. This is a way to talk about how you and your partner have been feeling in the past two weeks. It’s best to go through these questions honestly and with your health visitor. If you’re struggling or feeling low, you can expect your health visitor to understand and support you by listening and signposting you to any extra care needed for you.

We will measure your baby’s weight, length and head circumference if not already completed by your GP. Your GP will also offer a six to eight-week appointment around this time. It is important that you and your baby attend this appointment.

Nine to 12 months

Remember that all babies are unique and will develop at different rates without anything for their parents to worry about. This review gives you as parents the opportunity to see how your child is developing, and if they need any additional support to reach their full potential. This developmental review will take place in a clinic or your home and will take around 45 minutes.

A member of the Health Visiting Team will work with you to complete an ‘ages and stages questionnaire (ASQ)’. This looks at areas of your child’s development including:

gross motor skills such as sitting unsupported
fine motor skills such as transferring a toy from one hand to the other
personal and social skills
communication skills such as babbling and problem-solving skills.

Kent health visitors and midwives have put together a video on how your baby's growth is monitored during their early years, why this is important and what support is available for you and your baby. Thank you to all the parents, children and colleagues at Kent Community Health Foundation Trust and East Kent University Foundation Trust for their help in creating this video.

Additional support on offer

Child health clinics - Come along to a child health clinic for advice, information and support for you and your child's health and development from your local Health Visiting Team.

Beside You – help and support with breastfeeding including details of local breastfeeding drop-in sessions and virtual groups.

Born to Move app – encouraging play and interaction to help the learning and development of your baby’s brain at this early stage, building the foundations for a healthy, confident child.

Understanding your child – FREE online courses for anyone who is pregnant or caring for a child in Kent. There are courses for all stages from before baby arrives, up to 18 years of age. Use the access code Invicta to register for an account. You can complete courses in smaller chunks at your own pace.

Virtual workshops on a variety of topics including starting solids and toilet training.

Contact us

You can phone your local team for advice or reassurance Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (except bank holidays). For medical concerns about your child or yourself please call 111, GP or if urgent attend A&E.