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Babies and Childrens Health

A full programme of childrens services is undertaken at the surgery, where the doctors work in co-operation with the health visitors and practice nurses to provide a comprehensive service of examinations, vaccinations and advice.

Maternity

Our midwife provides antenatal care for all our expectant mums, from booking at around ten weeks, right through to delivery.

She offers regular antenatal appointments to monitor the well-being of mother and baby, which become more frequent as pregnancy progresses.  At the first appointment she takes routine pregnancy bloods, will discuss and book scans and talk about the options of where to have baby delivered, be that home or hospital. She also runs antenatal classes for first time mums to be.

Once baby is born, our midwife will be around post-natally for support with feeding issues, baby care and to make sure everything is settling down after delivery. She works closely with the health visitors who then take over the care of mother and baby.

At the first major check-up when your baby is around eight weeks old, they will have a full physical examination by one of the doctors, their first set of immunisations (see schedule below) and you will have the chance to discuss any problems or concerns that you have been having.

Regular development checks for the under- fives will be carried out after that by the health visitors.

Health Visitors

Health Visitors are registered nurses who have specialist training in health and social care. Their role is to provide information, advice and support to individuals, families and local communities to promote health and well-being.

The health visiting team works with expectant parents and families with pre-school children. We offer home visiting and a range of groups. The team works with a wide range of professionals e.g. speech therapists, orthoptists, early years providers and many more…

Here are some of the services on offer:

  • Post-natal advice and support
  • Breastfeeding support
  • Support with parenting e.g. coping with kids
  • Group baby clinic
  • Post-natal depression group
  • Support with benefits/housing

Children’s Immunisation Schedule

The immunisation schedule for babies in the UK begins when they are two months old. You can find out more detail about immunisations and when each is due on the NHS website.