Antenatal contact - Better Lives Healthy Futures
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Antenatal contact

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Pregnancy
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Congratulations on your pregnancy! Our Health Visiting team is here to help you and your family prepare for your baby's arrival. Watch the video and read on to find out how we can help.

We look forward to meeting you!

It’s the midwives or doctors that let us know that you are expecting a baby. The health visitor will offer to come and see you after 28 weeks of pregnancy. We’re looking forward to meeting you – your partner is welcome to be part of the visit. There may be lots of questions you want to ask. The visit is a good opportunity to talk about them and to find out what support is available.

Here to support you

Pregnancy can be an exciting time and there are many things you can do whilst you are pregnant to give your baby the best start.

The building blocks for your baby’s physical and mental health throughout life are being put in place now and no matter what challenges you may have, there are always things that you can do to help this.

Our job is to offer support and informed advice from when you are pregnant until your child starts school. The antenatal contact is the first time our health visiting team will be in touch.

Before you meet the health visitor – please take a look at the information on this website 

Have a browse. You’ll find the related topics section below and the further information links above them full of useful, reliable information about looking after yourself and your baby.

This information is available 24/7, so dip in when you need it – but please do take a look before your health visitor comes to see you so you can ask them any further questions you might have.

If you need to rearrange or book a visit, contact the Health Visiting team on: 01274 221223

Giving you our best advice

We will contact you again after you have given birth and at several key points in your baby’s development. Our visits may be at your home or we may ask you to come to a clinic run by our team and colleagues such as nursery nurses.

Families from all walks of life may need support for specific issues that affect their children’s health and development, so the actual service provided to each particular family will vary. We will assess your needs and give you our best advice for your personal circumstances.

Meanwhile, please browse our website for NHS information you can trust.

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Further information

Vaccinations during pregnancy
Vaccines help your body’s immune system to develop protective antibodies to fight disease and protect you against it. This leaflet from Public Health England explains about vaccinations to protect you and your baby during and after pregnancy.

Screening tests during and after pregnancy
This booklet from Public Health England gives you information on the screening tests you will be offered during your pregnancy and after your baby is born. It explains the different types of test and what the tests are looking for.

Easy read guide to screening tests
Eight easy read guides which explain the screening tests offered during and after pregnancy for people with learning disabilities.

Choosing where to have your baby
West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership has lots of helpful information about your journey through pregnancy and choosing where to have your baby - including home, midwifery units and hospitals.

Bradford Breastfeeding Buddies
The Bradford Breastfeeding Buddies are NCT trained breastfeeding peer support volunteers and can help you with your breastfeeding journey. Their Facebook page tells you how to get in touch with them and what events they’re running.

Baby Buddy app
This free mobile app gives you easy access to evidence-based information on range of areas, during pregnancy and the early stages of parenting.

Parenting classes in Bradford
If you're booked to birth at Bradford Royal Infirmary Womens and Newborn Unit find out about antenatal education classes available from Bradford Maternity Services.

Tiny Happy People

If you're expecting, this extensive collection of films and articles from the BBC will help you and your partner make sense of it all.

Related topics

Maternal and paternal mental health
Feeling worried or stressed, or even feeling a little down throughout and after your pregnancy can be normal but it’s important to realise when these feelings become more serious.
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Parent infant relationship
Your relationship with your baby starts much earlier than the first time you meet them.
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Breastfeeding
There are many benefits to breastfeeding for both you and your baby and in the first few days you and your baby will still be getting to know each other.
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Bottle feeding
If you choose to bottle feed you may still want to give the first few feeds of colostrum (first milk) before going on to bottle feeding.
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Infant feeding
Feeding your baby in the right way for you both can help get your baby get off to the best start in life.
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Safe sleep
Safe sleep is very important. You, and anyone helping you, needs to understand how to keep your baby safe whilst they sleep.
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0-4

Safety
Don’t forget the importance of safety which means seeing everything at your child’s level, giving them age appropriate toys, supervising them, removing dangers and items that could cause harm.
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0-4

Red Book
The Personal Child Health Record (PCHR), also known as the 'Red Book', is given to parents or carers’ at a child’s birth to record their health and development.
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0-4

New baby, new feelings
During the first week after having a baby, many women get what’s often called the ‘baby blues’. Women can experience low mood at a time when they expect to feel happy.
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0-4

Home safety
There are lots of things that you can do at home to protect your family.
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Car seat safety
Shopping for a car seat can be an exciting time, there’s a lot to choose from but it’s nice to imagine taking your new baby home in it for the first time.
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0-4

Vitamins
Vitamin D helps keep bones and teeth healthy. It is needed to absorb calcium from the diet.
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