Paediatricians or neonatologists are doctors specialising in the care of newborn babies and children. They will be involved in your care if early (premature) delivery is anticipated or if there are likely to be concerns about the health of your baby during or after the birth. 
Postnatal care is the care you and your baby receive after birth. This care is often provided by a team of clinicians; including midwives, doctors and other specialist health professionals who will ensure you and your baby have regular checks following the birth.
You will be offered a 6-8 week postnatal maternal check by the GP to ensure that you are feeling healthy and coping well. It is a chance for you to ask any questions, or address any concerns you may have.
These are some of the things your GP or health visitor will ask you about:
You will be provided with a telephone number for your community midwife team before you go home from the maternity unit. Please make sure you have this contact number before you leave.
For any urgent concerns with your physical and emotional health, you can call the maternity triage/assessment unit where you had your baby (up to 28 days after birth). You can also speak to your GP or attend your local urgent care centre or A & E department. The NHS 111 service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
If you are being discharged to a community midwifery service belonging to a different maternity unit than the one you gave birth in, you should be given the appropriate contact details. Below is a list of contact numbers for the community midwife teams across 
A Children’s and Family Centre is a place where parents and carers can go to enrich family life, connect with others and receive additional family support if needed. In some areas the Children’s Centre may be called a Family Centre.
Facilities and services in Children’s and Family Centres are designed around the needs of local families with children under the age of five.
A variety of sessions are available at your local Children’s and Family Centre or Family Centre including postnatal appointments and checks, baby weighing clinics and breastfeeding support. Once your baby is six weeks old, you can access activities such as baby massage in a Children’s and Family Centre. Visiting the Centre will give you the opportunity to meet other new parents and their babies. Please visit your local council’s Children’s and Family Centre timetables to see what sessions are available in your area.
Attending Children’s and Family Centres can help to reduce isolation that may be experienced by families with young children. Activities and services vary from centre to centre but can include – postnatal clinics, infant feeding drop-ins, stay and play sessions, baby massage, healthy eating sessions, parenting courses, English classes, advice around work, housing or finances, and more.
All newborn babies are offered a top-to-toe examination within 72 hours of birth. This includes screening tests to assess eyes, heart, hips and in boys, testes. This examination is performed by a specially trained midwife or a neonatal doctor, ideally before you go home. This check is important as it screens for rare, but serious conditions.
At six to eight weeks your baby will need another detailed check-up. This is a repeat of the initial newborn screening test (undertaken between six and 72 hours of age) to confirm that there are not any concerns with the heart, eyes, hips and testes which may have emerged since birth. Usually your GP carries out this second examination.
All newborn babies are offered a hearing screen. This test identifies the very few babies (one to two in every 1,000) with hearing loss in one or both ears. Having this test early provides prompt access to services to improve long term child development, should they be needed.
Your baby may have his/her newborn hearing screen in the maternity unit before you go home. If your baby missed this screening in the maternity unit, was born at home, or requires a follow up screen, you will be sent an appointment to attend your local baby hearing screening clinic within the first month after birth.
When your baby is between five to eight days old, your community midwife will offer the newborn blood spot test. The test involves collecting four small samples of blood from your baby’s foot on a card.
The test screens for nine rare but serious conditions, such as sickle cell disease, phenylketonuria, cystic fibrosis and congenital hypothyroidism.
For those babies identified with any of the conditions screened for, we know that early treatment can improve their health and prevent further serious or life threatening complications.
If your baby was born early (before 37 weeks gestation) the test may be done in the maternity unit by the neonatal team. More information can be found in the ‘Screening tests for you and your baby’ booklet.
When your baby is 5 days old, your health care professional will routinely offer screening tests for your baby. These may be offered to you at home or in a local postnatal clinic.
More information about screening tests can be found in the ‘Screening tests for you and your baby booklet’. This is available to download in many different languages.
