Your Health Visiting team is trained to help and support you with breastfeeding / feeding your baby.
You can view advice and information below and scroll down to the bottom of this page to access our interactive map to find your local breastfeeding support group.
You can talk to your health visitor about all aspects of caring for and developing a relationship with your baby, feeding your baby including the benefits of breastfeeding.
This will provide you with information to support you to make an informed decision and get breastfeeding off to a good start and help them transition from ‘womb to world'.
Watch this informative video about baby brain development, crying and postnatal wellbeing.
After your baby is born you will be encouraged to hold your baby skin to skin for as long as you like and until they receive their first feed. A midwife will offer to help you to breastfeed in the first half hour or so after your baby is born.
Your midwife will offer to show you how to express your milk by hand. You will receive information about the support available for breastfeeding once you leave hospital.
If you decide to bottle feed your baby, your health visitor will support you and offer you advice on how to make up a bottle safely. They will answer any questions you have and discuss responsive and paced bottle feeding. For further information about infant formulas visit First Steps Nutrition.
At the new birth visit your health visitor will ask if you are happy with your baby’s feeding and complete a breastfeeding assessment with you so that you feel confident that breastfeeding is going well and where you can get help and information. She can talk to you about baby-led attachment.
Your health visitor can talk to you about how to hold your baby and how to help them latch onto the breast – this will make sure they get enough milk and that feeding is not painful.
Your health visitor will talk to you about responsive breastfeeding and how often your baby may wish to breastfeed.
Your health visitor will talk to you about the importance of developing a close and loving relationship with your baby and what you can do to help 'build a happy baby'. You baby will love to be close to you and that’s good for their brain development.
You will receive information about:
When your baby is around six months old you can start to introduce family foods. Talk to your Health Visitor or Community Nursery Nurse about how to access Introducing Family Foods workshops in your area.
Your Family Doctor can support you if you have any health concerns about you or your baby and your pharmacist can give you information about the medication you can take whilst you are breastfeeding.
For more information about breastfeeding support, please contact your health visitor or use the interactive map below to find your local breastfeeding support group.
Do you know why Vitamin D supplements are important for you and your child? Please read more on our advice page.
For example, for developmental paediatrics or therapy services. Contact the One Stop referral centre (tel: 0300 222 5755, Option 2)
Contact your local Health Visiting team or call the Advice Line
Your GP will need to make a referral. Visit the Developmental Paediatrics page for more information about these services in Surrey.
Your GP needs to refer your child via CAMHS
Contact the Audiology service
Visit our feedback page to read about our approach and who to contact. You can also email the Patient Experience Team directly using csh.patientexperience@nhs.net
If your query is not covered by the routes above, please use the form below to contact us. Your query will be passed to the relevant team who will aim to respond within seven working days.
