Health visitor services

Resources

Building a Happy Baby’ is a baby friendly initiative to develop good relationships with your baby. 

Tiny Happy People is an online resource with videos and information and an app to help parents and health professionals learn about how the emotional wellbeing of babies develops within close relationships.

Tummy time is important in helping to develop your baby’s head, neck and core strength while they are young. It will also help them to sit and crawl as they get older.

You can share tummy time with them while they are awake by putting your baby on their tummy on your chest, then progressing to tummy time on a baby mat on the floor.

The tummy time leaflet (PDF) shows you how to tummy play with your baby everyday.

Please note: Babies should never sleep on their tummy.

When your child is ill or injured, it is sometimes difficult to decide what to do.

You can seek advice in the following ways:

  • Ask a pharmacist
  • Talk to your GP
  • Call 111 from your phone
  • Call the children's clinic at Morden Surgery (for children over 6 months only) between 8.00am and 8.00pm, Monday to Friday or 8:00am to 4.00pm, Saturday and Sunday on 0300 111 0088 
  • Visit the urgent care centre at Great Western Hospital

The guide for parents - what to do if your child is injured or unwell (image file) offers further advice and support

Healthy Start is the Government welfare food scheme. Healthy Start supports young and low income pregnant women and families with children under the age of 4 years in the UK.

The health visiting service run weaning groups that you can book on 01793 465050, 01793 465030 or 01793 463177. 

Alternatively, weaning guides and advice on healthy eating can be found at:  

Further recipes and guidance on healthy eating for children can be found at:  

For children with additional needs  

The National Autistic Society provides information on eating and diets for children with autism

Your health visitor can support you if you have concerns regarding your child’s diet or weight

Ready, Steady... Eat! A parent's guide to starting babies on solid food

The following video provides additional support.

Your health visitor will support you with your initial feeding choices for your baby.

Breast feeding support can also be found through the following support groups:  

The health visiting service offers support with promoting toilet training in addition to the following resources:

  • Potty training - useful guides, clips and top tips to support potty training
  • Toilet training - parental tips on toilet training 
  • Bowel problems - useful guides, clips and top tips to support parents to help their child manage constipation

For children with additional needs

There is a continence pathway to support promotion of healthy bowels and bladders for children with additional needs. Support is from the age of two and half for assessment.

Continence products are currently for children over the age of 4 who are not showing signs of readiness to toilet train.

Babies need a lot of sleep during the first few months of their lives so it is important to ensure they are sleeping as safely as possible.

For more information on safer sleep for your baby, see the following resources:

  • Baby Sleep Info Source (BASIS) provides information for parents who wish to make informed choices about infant sleep and night-time care
  • Lullaby Trust promotes expert advice on safer baby sleep and raises awareness on sudden infant death (also referred to as 'cot death').
  • Lift the Baby is a safe sleep advice video clip made by the NHS, Lullaby Trust and London Irish rugby team to reduce the number of babies who have died of SIDS, because dads have fallen asleep on the sofa with babies

Information on how to establish a good bedtime routine and environment can be found below:

The health visiting service also offer 1:1 sessions, or small groups, for parents who are struggling to get their toddler to sleep. 

Sleep advice for children with additional needs

The health visiting service offer 1:1 sessions on how to establish good sleep routines.

Other resources can be found below:

Managing children’s behaviour often starts with how we interact with them and the expectations we set our children for their age.

Information on how to promote positive behaviours can be found below: 

Behaviour support for children with additional needs

The health visiting service offer 1:1 sessions to support you to make changes in managing your child’s behaviour.

The following resources also offer support:

Dental care and health

All children over the age of one should be accessing a dentist. If you are pregnant or have had a baby in the last year, you can use the MATB1 form to apply for free NHS dental care.

The following resources may provide additional support:

You can also find out more on the dentists and dental care page.

Video resources

View the following HENRY video - Growing up with healthy teeth

The special care dental service

The special care dental service is for people with complex needs who are unable to access care at high street dentists.

It is a referral-only service and is staffed by a dedicated team of dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) who have a special interest in treating patients with additional needs.

Referrals are accepted for children who, because of their disabilities, need dentistry in a special care setting.

These may include:

  • children with a severe medical compromise
  • children with learning disabilities
  • autistic spectrum disorders
  • bleeding disorders
  • severe physical disabilities
  • children with repaired cleft lip/palate
  • children under five years of age with extensive decay for whom treatment has proved unsuccessful
  • looked after children and those under the child protection plan

Referrals are accepted from:

  • general dental practitioners      
  • general medical practitioners
  • any other health or social care professional

Hearing

All children born in the UK are offered a hearing screen in the first 10 days of life.

In your child’s red book (Personal Child Health Record) there are checklists for what your baby should hear at different ages and the sounds they should be making.

If you have concerns about your baby’s hearing you can request a hearing test directly from Audiology at West Swindon Health Centre 01793 889420. You can also discuss your concerns with your health visitor, GP or contact the National Deaf Children Society 

Little steps hearing support pre-school group also meets every Wednesday (term-time) from 9.30am to 11.30am at The Dorcan Academy, Swindon, SN3 5DA (meet at school reception). You can call them on 07727 189143 or 01793 544021 and email at HSTAdmin@swindon.gov.uk. 

Vision

In your child's red book (Personal Child Health Record) you will find a checklist about your child’s vision. If you have a concern about your child’s vision and they are over the age of three, you can take them for a vision test at the opticians. If your child is under the age of three, speak to your health visitor, GP or contact the Royal Society for Blind People (RSBC).

You should discuss concerns about your child's speech, language or communication development with your health visitor so that, if a referral for speech and language therapy is recommended, you can follow the pre-school referral pathway together.

For further information, see speech and language therapy. 

The following resources offer safety advice on home safety and the prevention of accidents:  

The following video also provides guidance on what to do if your baby is choking:

Finding things to do with your child to keep them entertained and stimulated is really important. They love it when you chat, play and read with them, even if you think they're too young to understand.

The following resources provide lots of ideas and guidance on activities you can do at home and through local groups. 

If you have concerns with your child’s development, you should talk to your health visitor or GP.

The birth to five booklet is a helpful resource and gives information on:

  • taking care of yourself as a parent
  • feeding your baby and young child
  • taking care of your baby and young child
  • a guide to growth and development
  • learning and play
  • keeping your child safe
  • rights and benefits 

Smoking

If you or your partner smoke, your baby will be exposed to second-hand smoke, which harms their health in a number of ways including increasing the risk of sudden infant death.

It is important to try to limit your child's exposure to second-hand smoke. You can to do this by going outside to smoke, wearing a jacket, and washing your hands afterwards.

If you or your partner smokes in pregnancy and would like support in quitting, please speak to your midwife. Most GP practices and pharmacies also offer services on stopping smoking, during or after your baby’s birth.

Please note: It is illegal to smoke in a vehicle with children present. 

Drugs and alcohol

If you would like help with your drug and alcohol intake, you should speak to your midwife or GP. You can also contact the impact substance misuse treatment service provided by Turning Point.   

Parental mental health

Your health visitor can put you in touch with organisations to support you with your mental health.

You can also find support through:

Maternity service - Great Western Hospital (GWH)

All parents are asked about previous mental health history, as well as any current concerns, when they are registered pregnant. Maternal mental health is considered at each contact throughout your pregnancy and partner mental health and any wider support needs within the family are also considered.

The Perinatal Mental Health midwife works full time and is responsible for liaising with the Mental Health services when further assessment or additional support is required.

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