Introduction

Family life and bringing up children are rewarding but can also be challenging. It has been widely recognised that your child’s early years are really important and will influence their development and future achievements.

Health Visitors are nurses or midwives who are passionate about promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing illness. They work with pregnant women through to a child’s fifth birthday. Their role is to help families adjust to being new parents, and provide information and reassurance to support a baby or young child’s health, wellbeing and development.

Health visiting is a free service and each family will have a named Health Visitor but might sometimes be seen by someone else in the team. Health Visitors may link with other professionals and provide additional support where families need more help.

How Health Visitors can help

Health visitors can help and support you to make healthy choices for yourself and your family. Health Visitors are based locally and visit families at home or through a clinic.

The Health Visitor will use something called the Personal Child Health Record or Red Book. The Red Book is given to parents at birth and offers lots of information about immunisation, developmental assessments and lots of general information about children’s health. Any health professional who comes into contact with a child can record things in the Red Book.

Other things they can help with

• Infant feeding and breastfeeding advice
• Child development
• Immunisations
• Healthy weight and physical activity
• Emotional health and wellbeing
• Parenting and local support groups
• Behaviour
• Sleep

They can also signpost to guidance on

• Safeguarding children
• Access to education and employment
• Smoking, drug and alcohol misuse
• Access to housing
• Sexual and contraceptive advice

Contact the team