What is a health visitor?
A health visitor is a qualified and registered nurse or midwife who works primarily with pre-school children and families. The role of the Health Visitor is about the promotion of health and the prevention of illness in all age groups. The health visitor leads a skill mix team of community staff nurses and community nursery nurses
The health visiting team are be able to support and advise on areas such as breast feeding and weaning, emotional wellbeing, attachment, safety, immunisation, physical and emotional development and other aspects of health and childcare. They are also able to provide support with behaviour management, toilet training, sleep and school readiness.
Health visitors can advise on all aspects of family health and social issues that may impact on families. Health visitors work in partnership with GPs and other members of the primary healthcare team, and other health professionals such as therapists, community paediatricians, and child and adolescent mental health services.
Health visitors work in collaboration with other agencies such as local authority children’s services and early years children’s services.
Health visitors work in collaboration with other agencies such as local authority children’s services and early years children’s services.
The health visiting service also has close contact with, and may refer families to, support groups in the voluntary sector such as Home Start. The team are able to signpost clients to services in the local community.
You can find out more about the role of health visitors by downloading the patient information leaflets on the right hand side of this page.
Or watch our video that highlights the amazing support Hounslow's Health Visiting Service offers mums-to-be and young families.
Health visitors are always there to help you, never to judge you or your parenting.
Advice Line
Families in Hounslow with children from birth to 5 years old, can call the Hounslow Health Visiting Advice Line on 020 8973 3490.
The advice line is available from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays) and provides support on all aspects of child health, development, and parenting.
- Sleep and your baby
- Breastfeeding and infant feeding
- Growth and your baby
- What to do if your child is unwell
- Introducing family foods and solids
- Behaviour and understanding your baby/child
- Immunisations
- Your emotional wellbeing
- Speech and communication
- School nursing
Please book through our Administration Hub on 020 8973 3490.
Please see our section on self-weigh stations for further information on where you can go to check your baby's weight.
Feeding support is available - no appointment required, just drop-in!
Whether getting ready to breastfeed, establishing breastfeeding, continuing breastfeeding, expressing, mixed feeding, formula feeding, introducing solids, or stopping breastfeeding, join us to receive support, encouragement and reliable information.
Midwives will refer babies who are eligible for BCG to community vaccination clinics to be vaccinated.
If you are worried your baby may have missed their BCG vaccination please contact the health visiting service on 020 8973 3490 or at hrch.hvadminhub@nhs.net
BCG information (NHS website)
Visit the BCG tuberculosis information provided by NHS Choices.
Frequently asked questions
A good connection to the internet
If you can watch a video online (e.g. YouTube) you can make a video call
A private, well-lit area where you will not be disturbed during the consultation
One of these:
- Google Chrome web browser on a desktop or laptop, or on an Android tablet or smartphone
- Safari web browser on an Apple iMac, MacBook, iPad or iPhone
Web-camera, speakers, and microphone already built into laptops or mobile devices
Video calls are secure - your privacy is protected.
You have your own private video room that only authorised clinicians can enter.
You don’t use any data while waiting for a clinician to join you.
An Attend Anywhere video call uses a similar amount of data to Skype or FaceTime. The video call is free, except for your internet usage.
Useful documents
NCT - Helpline: 0300 330 0700
La Leche League - Helpline: 0845 120 2918
Breastfeeding Network - Helpline: 0300 100 0212
Healthier Together - Advice on health conditions, symptoms, healthy living and help in the Hounslow area.
There are a number of self-weigh stations in Hounslow which allow to check your baby's weight to see if they are healthy and feeding well.
Self-weighing does not replace or affect any milestone or developmental checks that you will be offered.
Sites in Hounslow
Hanworth Library
Hanworth Air Park Leisure Centre and Library
Uxbridge Road
Hanworth
TW13 5EG
Osterley Library
11 St Mary's Crescent
Isleworth
TW7 4NB
Opening times:
Monday and Thursday: 9.30am - 8pm
Tuesday and Saturday: 9.30am - 5.30pm
Please note that the libraries are closed on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
- Before weighing your baby, you should wipe down the mat and scales using the antibacterial wipes provided.
- Before placing your baby on the changing mat, make sure there is clean blue roll on the mat and scales.
- Undress your baby.
- Press the green ‘START' button on the scales and wait for 0.000 to show on the display.
- Place your baby onto the tray, try to keep them as still as possible. For an accurate weigh check your baby isn’t holding onto anything that could impact the weight showing on the scales.
- Briefly press the ‘hold’ button and take a note of the weight shown.
- Turn to page 51 of the your baby's Red Book and record the date, your baby's age and weight.
- Once you have finished weighing and dressing your baby, please wipe all of the equipment again with an antibacterial wipe.
- Take any used nappies home for disposal.
There will also be a poster on display to guide you through weighing your baby.
It is normal for a baby to lose some weight in the first few days after birth. Your baby should be weighed in the first week as part of their assessment of feeding – this is often completed as part of your midwife contact.
Most babies get back to their birth weight by 2 weeks of age. This is a sign that feeding is going well and that your baby is healthy.
If you baby's weight has increased or dropped crossing 2 centile lines (the blue or pink curved lines on the weight chart), please contact Hounslow Health Visiting Service and they can review your this with you.
Weighing your baby too often may cause unnecessary concern; the list below shows how often, as a maximum, babies should be weighed to monitor their growth. However, most children will not need to be weighed as often as this.
After your baby has returned to their birth weight and is feeding well they do not need to be weighed as often. This is usually by the time they are 2 weeks old, but your health visitor will advise you.
Unless there is a medical reason and you have been advised to have more regular growth checks it is not always a good idea. It can cause unnecessary worry as weighing a lot can make it seem like your baby’s weight is going up and down. Weighing less often means you see a clearer longer term picture.
Weighing less often doesn’t mean you can’t be confident that your baby is thriving. There are other ways to know that your baby is getting the nutrition they need. You can be reassured when;
- They wake up and ‘ask’ for a feed.
- They are having plenty of wet and dirty nappies.
- They have times when they are content and alert (awake and looking around).
- Their skin is a normal colour for them.
- You can ‘feel’ them getting heavier and friends and family comment on them getting bigger.
- They are growing out of nappy sizes and need bigger baby clothes!
- They are reaching milestones and interested in the world around them.
Here is a helpful guide on how to plot your baby's weight
If you do feel worried that your baby is not gaining enough weight or might be gaining too much weight, you can call Hounslow Health Visiting Service on 020 8973 3490, open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday to talk it through with a health professional.
The Health Visiting Service follows the Healthy Child Programme, which recognises the first five years of a child’s life as the most important for human development.
We offer 4 tiers of healthcare and prevention to support families in making healthy choices to promote their child’s health, growth and development.
The health visiting team offers a core universal health visiting service to every family with a child under 5 years of age consisting of an:
- antenatal contact
- new birth contact between 10 – 14 days after birth
- assessment of maternal emotional well-being
- child health reviews at 1 and 2 years of age
- telephone advice line
- routine growth monitoring at well child health clinics
Universal plus service
The health visiting team can provide some extra advice and support when you need specific expert help with, for example, postnatal depression, your child’s sleep, feeding or behaviour issues.
Universal partnership plus service
If you need additional help because you may be experiencing, for example, domestic violence or mental health problems, the health visiting team will work with you and other professionals to devise a support plan to enable your child to reach their full potential.