Your health visitor will make an appointment to visit you and your baby at home between 10-14 days after your baby is born, so that the transition from midwife to health visitor is seamless. You don’t need to do anything to arrange this as the health visitor is automatically notified about your baby’s birth and will contact you. The visit will take around an hour to complete and is an opportunity for you to talk about your experiences and day to day life with your baby.
Further home visits may be offered if you need any extra help or support. This visit is an ideal opportunity for you to ask your health visitor anything you would like to know about feeding, attachment or any other concerns you may have around yourself and your baby.
Your health visitor will also ask you if you are sleeping, whether you are starting to feel more like yourself again and about your physical and mental health.
The health visitor will ask you if you need support with any aspects of your life as a new parent and will signpost you to advice and help if required.
Looking after a baby is tiring, especially in the first few months after the birth when your child is likely to wake several times during the night. Waking is normal and keeps babies safe and healthy. It would be expected that as your baby gets older, they may sleep for longer periods of time and wake up less often. It also means that you should try to rest during the day when your baby sleeps.
We will give you support with breastfeeding, safety, safer sleep for baby and immunisations.
The 0-4 years section of our website has information for parents and carers of children about many aspects of your child’s health, development and wellbeing. The following links are just a few of the resources for this time in your parenting journey.
- Hillingdon Health Visiting Service
- Hillingdon Children's centres
- CNWL Postnatal Depression Leaflet
- Hillingdon Infant Feeding Support Groups
- Mum and Baby app free to download on Apple and Android.
- Safer sleep for babies: The Lullaby Trust guide for parents
- Baby sleep information source (Basis)
- The Baby Check app by The Lullaby Trust
- Institute of Health Visiting - Top tips for Parents
- How can dads get involved
- Babies cry, you can cope
- Start for Life: Breastfeeding
- Tips for Emotional Health and Wellbeing - Mothers
- Tips for Emotional Health and Wellbeing - Fathers
- Healthy Start Scheme
If you would like to speak with a member of the health visiting team to discuss any concerns or support required, please do not hesitate to call us on 01895891302 or email us on cnw-tr.