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Important: Updates to North East Lincolnshire Council’s website

Health visitors

If you have any concerns about your baby or child or wish to speak to a health visitor please call our duty number 01472 323660. You can also email the health visitors at [email protected].

If you have information or communication needs because of a disability, impairment or sensory loss – let your Health Visitor / School Nurse know so they can support you and your family in the best way to suit your needs.

The Health Visiting service is available to all families in North East Lincolnshire who are expecting a baby, have a new born or a child up to the age of 5.

Your midwife will let us know about your pregnancy and a health visitor, who is a registered nurse or midwife who have been trained in public health, will provide advice and support at this important time for you and your child.

Being a parent can be wonderful but worrying all at the same time, what happens during pregnancy and in the first years of your child’s life will shape their future as this stage has the most development changes. Without help, small problems may become bigger problems. We have found that help early on make the biggest difference to children and families.

Our service is available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm at family hubs and health centres. We also make visits to your home. If you have any concerns you can call the service on 01472 323660.

Health visitor appointments

  • Antenatal appointment – offered to you from 28 weeks pregnant, you’ll meet your health visitor who will talk about our service and preparing for your baby’s arrival.
  • New birth visit – your health visitor will come to your home when your baby is 10 to 14 days old, you can ask any questions and talk about your first weeks with your new baby.
  • Postnatal contact – your health visitor will come again 6 to 8 weeks after birth, they will review your baby’s development and ask about your wellbeing.
  • Health review – appointments at 9 to 12 months and 2 to 2 and a half years old to check up on your child’s development, growth and overall wellbeing.

Healthy Start Scheme

With Healthy Start, you get free vouchers every week to spend on milk, fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables, fresh, dried, and tinned pulses, and infant formula milk. You can also get free vitamins.

You could qualify if you are pregnant or have children under the age of 4 and you’re on benefits or you’re under 18. Please visit NHS – Healthy Start

Useful information

The Institute of Health Visiting  provides helpful factsheets giving expert advice on key areas of looking after your new baby, there are also lots of useful self-help tips below.

Accidents are one of the main causes of premature death and illness for children. Every year in England, 60 under-fives die from accidents in and around the home. There are 450,000 visits to A&E departments and 40,000 emergency hospital admissions in England each year because of accidents at home among under-fives.

Useful information

ROSPA – Accident Prevention

Safety advice

Baby and toddler safety

What to do if your child has an accident?

ICON is all about helping people who care for babies to cope with crying.
ICON stands for ….

  • I – Infant crying is normal
  • C –Comforting methods can help
  • O – It’s OK to walk away
  • N – Never, ever shake a baby

Speak to someone if you need support such as your family, friends, Midwife, GP or Health Visitor.

For confidential bereavement support to anyone affected by the sudden and unexpected death of a baby or young child go to the Lullaby trust.

SANDS also supports anyone who has been affected by the death of a baby before, during or shortly after birth.

Your child’s development is a continuous process that is unique to your child. Each baby, child and young person does not progress at the same rate.

Useful information

NHS – Dealing with Difficult Behaviour

NSPCC – Beahviour – Positive Parenting

NCT – Stimulating baby through play

BBC – Reading babies cues, also good soundbites and video clips on crying and early communication

Pregnancy and Baby Guide  – includes Birth to Five timeline

Speech and language development

Parents guide to Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) Screening

Every child a talker resources and activities (PDF, 1MB)

Flat feet in young children

Hungry Little Minds – Simple, fun activities from newborn to five

Your baby’s developmental milestones

When it comes to teething, all babies are different. Your baby will probably get their first tooth some time during their first year.

Find a local dentist

Useful information

Teething

How do I brush my baby’s teeth?

Childrens teeth

Breastfeeding is the healthiest way to feed your baby. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for around the first 6 months. After that, giving your baby breast milk alongside other foods will help them continue to grow and develop, and receive protection from illness.

Find out more about Breastfeeding support.

Responsive feeding

Responsive feeding is a two way relationship between a mother and her baby, by following the points below you will make your baby feel safe.

Breastfeeding
  • Feeding your baby frequently for food and comfort
  • That you know how your baby is getting enough milk
  • That you understand the value of exclusive breastfeeding
  • Teaching you to hand express and why this can be helpful
Formula feeding
  • Observe feeding cues
  • Hold baby close
  • Encourage rooting
  • Invite baby to take teat
  • Pace the feed
  • Never force a full feed
  • Limit who feeds the baby

Useful information

Weaning

NHS Solid Foods Weaning

Start4Life Weaning

Healthy Eating/Faddy Eaters

Eating Well Early Years

Vegan/Vegetarian Diets

Change4Life Food Facts

Tongue Tie

Lalache Tongue Tie

NCT Tongue Tied Babies

Thrush in Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding Network – Thrush Detailed

General information

Baby friendly resources

Start4life resources on feeding

Vitamin D

First step nutrition

Vaccination is one of the greatest breakthroughs in modern medicine. No other medical intervention has done more to save lives and improve quality of life. As a parent, you may not like seeing your baby being given an injection, however it will help protect them against a range of serious and potentially fatal diseases.

Routine childhood vaccinations start when a baby is 8 weeks old (even if they are premature). You will receive an appointment in the post when your baby is due their vaccinations, this will be undertaken at your GP’s.

If you’re not sure whether you or your child has had all your routine vaccinations, ask your GP or practice nurse to find out for you. It may be possible to catch up later in life.

Useful information

Vaccinations

NHS vaccinations and when to have them

It can be difficult to tell when a baby or toddler is seriously ill, but the main thing is to trust your instincts. You know better than anyone else what your child is usually like, so you’ll know when something is seriously wrong.

Useful information

Signs and symptoms of serious illness

Rashes in babies and children

Baby and Child First Aid  – The British Red Cross provides simple, easy-to-learn skills to help a baby or child in a first aid emergency

Pharmacy First

Community pharmacies offer a more convenient way to access healthcare that includes support with healthy eating, exercise, stopping smoking, monitoring your blood pressure, contraception, flu and covid vaccinations.

Being pregnant is a time of change, but this can also be a time of feeling worried, fearful, excited and joyful.  Although all of these feelings are completely normal, for many women some of these changes can be distressing and more severe.

The ‘baby blues’ are due to the sudden hormonal and chemical changes that take place in your body after childbirth.  This can affect many women and should only last for a few days.  However, for some women these symptoms can be more severe and last longer, and could be Postnatal Depression.

Signs of postnatal depression may include:

  • feelings of being unable to cope, hopelessness and excessive anxiety
  • not being able to stop crying
  • panic attacks
  • concerns about bonding with your baby

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please talk to a GP, Health Visitor or someone you trust.

Useful information

Fatherhood Institute

Relate – COVID-19 Tips for Healthy Relationships

NHS Mood Assessment

Postnatal Depression

Contraceptive advice after birth

Looking after yourself after birth

Tommys  – offers support to those who have suffered the loss of a baby as well as support for those who have had a difficult or traumatic pregnancy, birth or postnatal period.

Family Lives  – A national family support charity providing help and support on all aspects of family life including school readiness, behaviour and divorce/separation.

On this site you can find information about services local to you, general pregnancy and birth advice, and information on more specialist services including post-natal mental health services: Humber and North Yorkshire Maternity.

Smoking in Pregnancy

Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for you and your baby’s health. At Bump The Habit, we realise it’s a stressful time for you and we are here to give you all the support and help that you need. We offer home visits that work around you and we can also support o ther members of your family to quit at the same time.

Bump the habit

Mental Health

Perinatal mental health issues (those which occur during pregnancy or during the baby’s first year) affect one in five women and could have long-lasting effects on the woman and her family if left untreated. But many perinatal mental health issues are treatable and recognising the signs early and seeking support promptly improves recovery and outcomes for mums and their babies.

The Every Mum Matters campaign has launched in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire to support new and expectant mums and their families to be able to recognise symptoms of perinatal mental health problems early and encourage them to seek help promptly. Specialist services and support are available in these areas.

Every Mum Matters

The Lullaby Trust safer sleep advice gives simple steps for how your baby should sleep to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) which is more commonly known as cot death. The advice can give you the peace of mind to enjoy this special time.

Useful information

Safer sleep advice

Children are able to control their bladder and bowels when they’re physically ready and when they want to be dry and clean. Every child is different, so it’s best not to compare your child with others.

Using a potty is a new skill for your child to learn. It’s best to take it slowly and go at your child’s pace. Being patient with them will help them get it right, even if you sometimes feel frustrated.

Useful information

How to potty train

ERIC  – Childrens bowel and bladder charity

Contact details

Related pages

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