Health visitors in Hertfordshire

Health visitors are nurses or midwives who specialise in the health and development of pre-school children.

They offer confidential health advice and support to Hertfordshire residents, from pregnancy right through to your little one turning 5 years old.

How to get in touch with a health visitor

Your health visitor will contact you several times after your baby is born. You can also:

find your health visiting team contact in your Red Book.
call the health visiting service on 0300 123 7572 to get advice over the phone or arrange an appointment.
visit a walk-in baby clinic event at your local family centre. No appointment is necessary.

Whether it's at a home visit, over the phone or at a baby clinic, our health visitors can offer advice on:

post-natal depression
emotional support
your child’s growth and development
feeding your baby, including breast feeding and introducing solids.
healthy eating and exercise
staying safe and preventing accidents
behaviour difficulties (including sleeping, eating, potty training and teething)
immunisations
some medication prescriptions
common infections and skin problems in childhood
support for children with special educational needs and disabilities
domestic abuse.

There's self-help information available online too.

at 28-34 weeks pregnant (only in some areas of Hertfordshire).
at 4–7 days old, they will usually contact you.
at 10–14 days old, they'll visit you at home. This is called a new birth visit. At this point, your health visitor takes over from your midwife.
at 6-8 weeks old
at 1 year old
at 2 years old

Find out more about these baby reviews, including what happens at each review, what tests they'll carry out and what they'll talk to you about.