Useful information

Child Developmental Reviews

Come and show us how special your child is. Make your child’s nine to 12 month and two-year developmental review a priority.

The developmental review is an opportunity to discuss and promote a child’s health and development and to identify children early who are not developing as expected and who may require additional support.

As part of the review, health visitors will work with parents to complete an Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) about their child’s development. Information about the Ages and Stages Development Reviews are available on the NHS website. 

Newborn Behavioural Observations

Get to know more about your baby with the newborn behavioural observations (NBO).

Your Health Visitor will introduce the New Born Observation (NBO) to you as part of the mandatory contacts.

Neonatal Behavioural Observation is a way to observe babies and all their behaviours. It takes 20-30 minutes to do in a quiet, warm room with the mother / father / family. We look at how your baby responds to sound when asleep (habituation) and faces and objects (orientation). We can also look at your baby’s physical activity / reflexes and how your baby is able to manage sleeping and crying.

We do this to share the abilities of new born babies up to age 3 months, and your baby in particular, to look at what your baby likes and dislikes and how we can understand his/her signals. By understanding your baby’s behaviour and temperament we can develop the best ways to handle and look after your baby.

Find out more about the NBO here.

Tell us what you thought of your NBO experience

If your Health Visitor has arranged a time with you for an NBO session, please answer our survey here.

Birth to Five 2020

The following link take you to The Birth to five book. This book gives you information on: Becoming a parent, taking care of yourself and your child & finding practical help and support.

Birth to Five 2020

Guidance on interaction and understanding your baby – This 11 page guide provides advice for parents on getting to know your baby, becoming in tune and understanding cues.

A secure attachment ensures a child will feel secure and reassured their needs will be met. This promotes emotional self-regulation and resilience into adulthood .

Video Interactive Guides

Ask your Health Visitor about VIG (Video Interactive Guide)

Video interaction guidance is a tool which aims to improve communication within relationships. This tool is used to illustrate and focus on positive aspects of parenting. The health visitor will video a real situation, where you and your child(ren) are engaged in doing something together. This will last about 10 mins. This film will then be edited down to a few short clips. During the following visit, you and the health visitor will look at these short clips together and discuss what you see. The focus is on highlighting the positive aspects of your communication and parenting which you can build upon.

If you have been involved with our video interactive guide programme which supports maternal mental health and promotes bonding between parents and their babies. Let us know your thoughts by completing the following online VIG questionnaire.

Around one in five women will experience a mental health problem during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth. This might be a new mental health problem or another episode of a mental health problem you’ve experienced before. These are known as perinatal mental health problems.

Your Health Visitors are skilled listeners, talk to them. They can support and signpost you to other relevant resources.

Mental health support services in Gloucestershire

Find out more about the mental health support and services available here.

Babies Cry, You Can Cope

Find information and support on coping with a crying baby on the ICON website.

Perinatal Mental Health Treatment

What is perinatal-treatment.com?

• It is a one-stop resource, with access to most of the (international) freely/openly available, evidence-based/informed perinatally adapted interventions.
• There are interventions for both perinatal adult mental health and parenting.
• There is a clinician section (access to clinician guides/handbooks) and a client/patient section (access to self-help treatments or treatments that can be used in collaboration with a clinician).
• This website is not a list of “suggestions” or resources but provides direct access to the online/app based treatments or downloadable treatment manuals/booklets themselves.
• The website is the result of joint work through the Marce Society and Universities of Exeter and Bristol and was funded by the Elizabeth Blackwell (Wellcome) Institute.
• We hope this website will be useful for both clinicians and for parents.
• We have been careful to note that these materials are all evidence-informed, but that we do not endorse them per se, and that we encourage users to undertake treatment with the support of a health professional.

For more information, visit the Perinatal Treatment website.

Find a resource on positive touch here.

Our health visiting service has been awarded UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative Accreditation Stage 3.

Local support

The Breastfeeding Network (BFN) and Gloucestershire Breastfeeding Supporters Network (GBSN) offer local breastfeeding peer support and counsellors at group settings and by telephone / text.

The Breastfeeding Network groups can be found here.

Find out about Gloucestershire Breastfeeding Supporters Network groups here. 

Gloucestershire Breastfeeding Supporters Network also runs specific sessions for expectant parents to find out more about breastfeeding. Find out more here.

Useful information

• The National Breastfeeding Helpline is open 9.30am to 9.30pm. Call: 0300 100 0212.
• Lots of information on breastfeeding can be found on the NHS website.
• Here are some short films from four mums who decided to breastfeed their babies. These films will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about breastfeeding and how to do it successfully.
• UNICEF – Breastfeeding resources and information
• NHS Start4Life – Brestfeeding resources and information
• This Mum Can Glos – A series of webinars featuring local professionals, Health Visitors, and Breastfeeding Groups, presenting topics related to Infant Feeding which can be viewed on YouTube here.
• Gloucestershire Maternity Voices – A live Q&A, which can be viewed here, hosted by Emma Rawlinson (MVP Chair) and Hannah Creswell (MVP Volunteer) with experts Sophie Ferguson, Specialist Infant Feeding & Tongue-Tie Midwife and Emma Cronin-Preece, Infant Feeding Specialist Health Visitor. This session focuses on infants over four weeks old.
• UK Drugs in Breastmilk Advisory Service free helpline: 0116 258 6491 Email: ukdilas.enquiries@nhs.net

GHC Handy Guides

• Common Feeding problems: This 10 page guide takes you through common feeding issues such as thrush, colic & reflux, milk allergies and mastitis.
• Feeding for the future: This 11 Page guide supports parents in the introduction of solid food, when and how and resources.
• Infant Feed guide: This 11 page guide supports breastfeeding, it looks behind the science of breastfeeding along with positioning and links to resources.

Introduction to Solid Food –Virtual/Video Hub

The Health Visiting Service is now offering virtual video hubs, giving parents and carers the opportunity to talk to a professional about the Introduction to solid foods.
These run on Monday’s, Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s.

Introducing your baby to solid food should start from 6 months of age. It’s a really important step in your baby’s development.

When your baby is 16 weeks you will receive a first text message from the health visiting team, signposting you to the health visiting website, where you will find evidence based information that you will be able to read before you introduce solid foods to your baby.

When your baby turns 18 weeks old, you will receive a second text message from us with information on how to sign up to attend virtual video hubs.

If you have any questions or queries before then please contact your local health visiting team, this information can be found on the front page of our website.

Public Health England (PHE) has launched a Start4Life campaign about weaning babies.

A recent survey suggests that a quarter of mums lack confidence when introducing their babies to solid foods. The campaign is being launched as part of the Start4Life programme, which aims to help parents adopt healthy behaviours during pregnancy, birth and their children’s early years. A brand-new weaning hub is now available on the Start4Life website to help parents during their weaning journey.

With NHS-approved advice and tips for each weaning stage, plus simple, healthy weaning recipes for different age groups, it puts everything parents need to know in one place. Developed in partnership with parents, the weaning hub makes it easy for parents to find answers to their weaning questions and get information relevant to their baby’s age and weaning stage.

Useful information

• Start 4 Life NHS Weaning Hub
• Food Smart App from Change 4 Life
• Smart Recipes App from Change 4 Life
• Vegetarian and Vegan Diets on NHS website
• Vegetarian and Vegan children on NHS website
• Vitamins for children – NHS website
• Bliss – Information on weaning a premature baby

GHC Handy Guide to Introducing Solids

Handy guides to portion size and diet are available for two age groups. Both guides are two pages long and include visual guidance on food portion sizes for 1-2 & 3-4 years of age.

• Portion sizes for one and two-year-olds (PDF download)
• Portion sizes for three and four-year-olds (PDF download)

The Change4Life Sugar Smart app is designed to show quickly and easily how much total sugar is in the things you’re buying, eating and drinking, to help you spot it more easily so you can make healthier choices and cut your sugar intake. Find the sugar smart app here..

BMI is a good way to check if you are a healthy weight. Use the BMI calculator to check the whole family and find helpful information and advice. BMI is a measure of whether you’re a healthy weight for your height. Find a BMI calculator here.

• Information on vitamins for children.
• There is a new process in Gloucestershire for eligible families to access Health Start Vitamins, please take a look at the attached link where you will find further information on the scheme and how to access these vitamins: Free Healthy Start Vitamins
• Guidance on Vitamin D
• Vitamin D may help reduce Type 1 Diabetes risk in susceptible children

Born to Move is a free NHS app to help parents or carers with their new-born babies, right up to pre-school. It’s packed with advice, tips and games that you can play with your child to support their development. It is available The Born to Move app is available here.

A guide to physical activity in the early years. This 2 page guide provides advice and resources surrounding the importance of prompting physical activity in the early years.

First Steps Nutrition

First Steps Nutrition Trust is an independent public health nutrition charity that provides information and resources to support eating well from pre-conception to five years.

Its mission is to:

• ensure that everyone working to support mums-to-be and young families has access to independent, expert and practical ‘eating well’ resources
• provide up-to-date information on infant milks for sale in the UK and promote better regulation and marketing of breastmilk substitutes
• contribute to good policy and practice throughout the UK and ensures that the importance of good nutrition from pre-conception to five remains on everyone’s agenda.

Find out more about First Steps Nutrition here.

Feeding for the future: This 11 Page guide supports parents in the introduction of solid food, when and how and resources.

• Find out more about the NHS 111 service and when to use it.
• Find a visual guide to childhood illnesses – from measles to chickenpox.
• Information on the signs, symptoms and treatment of meningitis.
• Information on keeping your baby or child safe in the sun.
• The Red Cross baby and child first aid app  is a great resource and free to download.

The Lullaby Trust provides specialist support for bereaved families and anyone affected by a sudden infant death (SIDS) as well as safe sleep advice for the prevention of SIDS.

Sleep advice videos can be found here.

A handy guide to looking after your child’s teeth is available here. Both guides have two pages of advice on looking after your child’s teeth, the use of fluoride and how to contact a dentist.

• Looking after your child’s teeth – 1
• Looking after your child’s teeth – 2

The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry is an organisation dedicated to improving the oral health of children in the UK.

Dental Check by One
All parents and guardians are advised to ensure that young children in their care are taken to see a dentist as soon as their first teeth come through, and before their first birthday. Find out more about Dental Check by One here.

A Practical Guide to Children’s Teeth
Caring for your baby’s teeth is one of many important responsibilities as you become a parent. The BSPD has assembled the basic advice and information you might need about oral health in one concise leaflet, A Practical Guide to Children’s Teeth.

Information on funded places for children from the age of two years old.

This is a free and confidential service and can be contacted on 0845 602 9035

Please talk to your health visitor who will be able to support you.

They can identify what safety equipment may be required, which they can also supply and fit. A wide range of items including fire guards, stair gates and window locks are provided at low cost, and there is no charge for the fitting. They also work with medical and social care professionals, charities and voluntary agencies to provide equipment free of charge to families in need.

Information about child car seats is available from Think!

First aid information from the Red Cross here.

Covid-19 Advice

• Who should wear a face mask and when, and how to make your own
• Caring for your baby during the pandemic 
• How to stay safe outside your home during the pandemic

Toilet Training Handy Guide – This resource provides guidance and advice as to when your child is ready, bladder and bowel function and constipation, along with links to useful resources.

Talk to your Health Visiting team and local children’s centre about the Solihull programme and information.

An evaluation of the views of over 200 parents who have taken part in the ‘Understanding your child’s behaviour’ course showed that 95% of parents found the course highly satisfactory. Parents increased their knowledge of strategies and solutions for responding to children’s behaviour, they improved their interactions with their children and were better able to recognise and respond to their own and their children’s feelings.

UNICEF guide ‘Building a happy baby – Forming a relationship before and after you meet your baby

Health Visiting and Midwifery services work closely together to support your transition to parenthood.

Your Health Visiting Team will contact all pregnant women via text message during the 26th week of pregnancy, encouraging you to book onto 4 antenatal group sessions, that are delivered by the Midwifery and Health Visiting Services.

Please access the following website https://www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/our-services/services-we-offer/maternity/  where you will find information from Gloucestershire Hospitals Foundation Trust Maternity services on:

• Having your baby in Gloucestershire
• How to contact the maternity team
• Your pregnancy
• Labour & birth
• After your baby is born
• Useful Leaflets and information about every stage of your pregnancy, including preparing for labour and going home
• Bereavement

Please click on the following link which will take you to the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust Midwifery services postnatal video: Postnatal Information Animation

Please contact your local Health Visiting Team on the contact numbers displayed on this site if you would like to talk to or access a Health Visitor during your pregnancy.

This book brings together everything you need to know to have a healthy and happy pregnancy and to make sure you get the care that is right for you.

The guidance about pregnancy and babies does change, so it’s important to get up-to-date, trusted advice to help you make the right decisions and choices.

The Pregnancy Book

Risks that affect people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds during pregnancy

• This link takes you to a one minute video: Gloucestershire Hospital NHS Trust are working hard to reduce the increased risks that affect people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds during pregnancy. This video provides information to support this.