Sutton Health Visiting Service

Health visitors are registered nurses who have professional experience in child development and family health. They work as part of a team with community nursery nurses to promote good health and to help with the prevention of illness in all age groups in line with the Department of Health “Healthy Child Programme”

The Health Visiting team works with parents and carers who have children under five, providing advice and support on the following  

• Peri-natal mental health 

• Infant feeding 

• Healthy lifestyles 

• SEND

• Parenting 

• Child development 

We work in teams with Community Nursery Nurses and also work closely with a number of other community and voluntary sectors.  These services include GP surgeries, midwives, paediatricians, children’s centres, Early Help teams and other Sutton Health and Care partners.

Antenatal Contacts:

There are opportunities to interact with your Health Visitor before your baby is born.

Your health visitor may contact you before your baby is born between 28-36 weeks of pregnancy.

During this contact your health visitor will talk to you about:

• How your pregnancy has been going

• What support you have to help you with your baby

• How you would like to feed your baby

• If you have any concerns about becoming a parent.

• What to expect after your baby is born.

New Birth Visit (when your baby is around 10 – 14 days old)

Your health visitor will contact you to arrange an appointment when your baby is between 10-14 days old for a new birth visit. 

This is when your midwife will normally hand over care of you and your baby to your Health Visitor.

At this visit your health visitor will: 

• Ask how you are feeling emotionally following the birth of your baby 

• Check if you have any concerns about your health or your partner's health

• Tell you about the immunisations your baby needs

• Vaccines -are they safe for my baby 

• Discuss and support feeding your baby

Postnatal Contact (when your baby is 6-8 weeks old)

This contact is important for assessing your baby’s growth and wellbeing and to see how you and your partner are feeling. This is a good time to talk about the following:

• Your emotional health 

• A discussion about how your baby is feeding 

• Breastfeeding

• Immunisations 

• Managing expectations or worries you may have eg baby’s sleep/ crying

• You will also be reminded about other services that provide help and support

Developmental reviews (when your baby is 1 year and 2 years old)

1 year developmental review

During this contact you will be given the opportunity to discuss your babies' growth and development. You will be contacted by letter for you to arrange an appointment for your child’s review.   To help you think about your child's progress you will be sent an Ages and Stages questionnaire (ASQ).  The aim of the questionnaire is to help you understand your child's development.

You will have an opportunity to discuss the following:

• Healthy lifestyle 

• Immunisations 

• Dental health 

• Safety issues 

• Next stages of development 

2 year developmental review

A member of the health visiting team will contact you to arrange an appointment to review your child’s health and developmental progress including the following:

• Physical development for example: ability to walk, run and clamber over obstacles

• Talking and communicating to adults and other children and discuss your child’s hearing and vision

• Behaviour

• Sleeping

• Toilet training

• Diet

• Options for childcare and early year’s education.

We also provide ongoing support in partnership with other professionals and services for families dealing with more complex issues such as:

• Domestic abuse

• Mental health issues.