Having a new baby is a daunting time for anybody, and many new parents can feel overwhelmed when they return home with their new bundle of joy. So much of the run up to the due date is focused on the actual birth and what will happen during the birth that professionals can often overlook how difficult it can be to return home with a brand new baby. Thankfully health visitors are on hand to offer their support and guidance to help give the child their best possible start in life and support mum and dad too of course!

Health visitors can support a child right up until their 5th Birthday, and will provide advice on minor illnesses and monitor developmental milestones. They work closely with a range of other professionals and can provide an essential link to more specialist services. Speech Therapists at Integrated Treatment Services often find that it is the Health Visitor who has first spotted the difficulty that a child many be having with their speech and language development and recommended the referral to our specialist service. Health Visitors are trained nurses or midwives, but because of the way they are trained they are very tuned in to what professional help is available for children with specific needs. The families who we see at ITS have benefited from referrals and information from health visitors for children living with specific speech and language needs, as well as those with more complex needs.
A new mum in Gateshead (Tyneside) was so grateful for the help that she received when she was a new mum that she nominated her health visitor for an award of recognition in a celebration of health care that was held in the North East at the end of 2012. Such is the impact that a caring individual can make on a new mum