Should you need urgent health advice please contact your GP or call NHS 111. In an emergency please visit A&E or call 999

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Your child’s new birth contact

You will be contacted by your Public Health Nurse (Health Visitor) to arrange a contact when your baby is 10-14 days old. Please allow at least an hour for this appointment.

During this contact, you will be able to discuss lots of things, including:

  • Feeding your baby
  • Safe sleep and safety
  • Emotional wellbeing and the support available
  • Your family and environment

Part of this contact involves weighing your baby.

The Health Visitor will examine your baby, checking:

  • For signs of jaundice
  • Their eyes
  • Their mouth
  • Their umbilical cord and spine

They will talk you through what they are doing as they check your baby over.

Any marks, such as birth marks or marks from an assisted birth, will be documented on a body map in your child’s red book.

If there are any marks that can’t be identified a birth marks or birth injury, there is a process the Health Visitor will need to follow, known as safeguarding. This is to make sure your baby is safe. This leaflet explains the process.

You can find more advice and information in our ‘You and your newborn baby’ collection.

If you would like to speak to the health visiting team about this contact, you can call the Healthy Together Helpline on 0300 300 3001, or you can get in touch via our confidential text messaging service, ChatHealth; details of which you can see below.

Thinking about your experience of giving birth

‘Birth Reflections’ is a service that provides space for you to talk through your birth experience if you feel it was not as you expected. 

You’ll find the contact number for ‘Birth Reflections’ on your maternity records, or you can either call or text your name and date of birth to 07876 476 003 and a midwife will contact you. Alternatively, you can email birthreflections@uhl-tr.nhs.uk

ChatHealth Logo

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust runs a confidential secure text messaging service for parents of children aged 0-19 years called Chat Health. The service operates Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm, excluding bank holidays. All texts will be responded to by a public health nurse (health visitor/school nurse) within 24 hours. Outside of the service working hours, you’ll receive a message back to inform you that your text will be responded to once the line reopens.

Healthy Together Logo

Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust runs the Healthy Together Helpline for parents and carers in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. The Helpline’s qualified health and administrative professionals offer easy to access, safe and free advice, support and signposting. Calls are answered from 9am – 4.30pm on weekdays, excluding bank holidays. Calls are charged at the same rate as calling a standard landline number.

Should you require urgent health advice in the meantime, please contact your GP, visit an NHS walk-in centre or call NHS 111. For emergencies, dial 999 or visit A&E.

Page last reviewed: 20-02-2024

Next review due: 20-02-2027