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Pregnancy and Baby


Support for new and expectant mums and dads.

Select 'View all services' to see everything available to support new mums, or browse our highlights below.

Antenatal ClassesProvides parents-to-be with all the information and skills they need to feel confident about making the right choices for their new baby.Find out more Breastfeeding Support Friendly, welcoming breastfeeding support groups in your local area and online. Find out more

Breastfeeding Advice and SupportGet off to a good start with this guide offering help and support for breastfeeding.Find out moreHealth and Wellbeing ServicesFind support throughout your pregnancy, right through to the birth of your little one Find out more

Your Local Family Hub Services and support for Families. Parent and toddler groups, parenting programmes, support and drop-in sessions.Find out more

Helpful Advice and Guidance

Development checks with a Health Visitor
To book a review please contact your Health Visitor, to obtain a Health Visitor, phone the Care Management Centre on 01872 221400. All reviews are free of charge.

Your guide to pregnancy
You’ll find everything you need to help you feel confident and reassured over the next nine months right here.

What to do when I first find out I’m pregnant?
When you find out you are pregnant, there are three things for you to do.

Preparing for pregnancy
Family Lives gives a range of advice including emotions during pregnancy, how your baby develops, pregnancy scans and checks, birth plans, and preparing for baby to arrive. 

Healthy eating during pregnancy
Eating a healthy, nutritious diet is especially important if you're pregnant, or planning a pregnancy. Your baby relies on you to provide the right balance of nutrients to help them grow and develop properly (even after they're born).

Eating well in pregnancy
Here you can find out about what good nutrition means for pregnant women, find out more about the Healthy Start and Best Start Foods schemes and find links to a number of other organisations and support groups.

Vitamins and supplements in pregnancy
Start4life's guide to vitamins and supplements during pregnancy. 

Your guide to labour
What really happens during labour and what can you expect and prepare for? Read about each stage here.

What happens during labour and birth
NHS's guide to the stages of labour and birth. 

Am I in labour?
Know the signs that labour has begun. 

You and your baby 0-12 months
Lots of useful information and services are available here.

Ready, Steady... Eat - An introduction to solid food
Introducing your baby to solid foods starts when your baby is around 6 months old. Your baby should be introduced to a varied diet, alongside their usual breast milk or first infant formula. It can be confusing knowing when and how to start introducing solid foods. We’re here to guide you through the journey of starting your baby on solid foods and explain what it all means.

Breastfeeding Peer Support in Cornwall 
You can now access Breastfeeding support currently available, including helplines and peer support groups on one page.

Bump to Baby Online
The Bump to Baby programme which is usually run by health visitors, midwives and children’s centre staff is now available online.

Look Say Sing Play
Have you heard of the Look Say Sing Play campaign? As a parent, you can get a new tip, tailored to your child's age, each week to incorporate more 'brain-building' fun into your baby's routine!

Start4Life: Introducing your baby to solid foods
Check out Start4Life for brand-new NHS-approved complementary feeding advice, tips for each stage and simple healthy recipes.

Week-by-week guide to pregnancy
Start4life's week-by-week pregnancy guide is packed with lots of useful information. From what's happening inside your body, to how your baby is developing, and tips and advice on having a healthy pregnancy – this is your one-stop pregnancy guide!

Bookstart Baby Pack
You will get a Bookstart Baby pack in your baby's first year, usually from your health visitor or other health professional. Your child will also get a Bookstart Treasure pack when they are 3 or 4 years old from their nursery, playgroup or other early years setting.

Relate: Information for new parents
Having a new baby can mean there are a whole host of new pressures on your relationship. We can help you adapt to the changes.

Sex and intimacy information for new parents
If you're in the pregnancy phase, or if you've just had a child, you may be facing some unique relationship challenges. It's likely that one of those challenges will be sex, and how to stay intimate together.

Relate: Parenting Together
Having different ideas about how to parent doesn’t have to create big problems in your relationship. It just requires a little effort, communication and cooperation.

Ages and stages
A guide to the typical stages of speech and language development in babies, children and young people. 

Bath Book Bed 
Bedtime routine advice for babies and toddlers. 

Everyday Care
Your baby's arrived and you’ve probably got 101 things on your mind. Don't worry, you're not on your own. We're here with information and support as your baby develops.

Help your baby learn to talk
Baby and toddler play ideas and tips on how to help with speech.

How to get your newborn to sleep
Top tips for settling little ones, from 0-to 48 months

Language development
We have produced a number of free resources on child language development for parents and people working with young children. These are made available on this page and can be shared freely

Learning to talk and communicate with your baby
Your baby's arrived and you’ve probably got 101 things on your mind. Don't worry, you're not on your own. We're here with information and support as your baby develops.

Top tips for new parents
As a new parent, you're bound to have questions on everything from getting started with breastfeeding to washing and bathing your baby and changing their nappy.

Why do babies cry? The reasons and responses
One of the first things you’ll notice as a parent is that babies cry. Here we look at what makes babies cry and how to help them settle.

Your baby's development: 0-3 months
In the first three months, your baby will be growing and developing a lot. We look at what to expect at this age – from feeding to bath time to sleep.

Financial Support

Universal Credit
Universal Credit can be paid to top-up income from work or other benefits or if you have no other income. You do not need to work a certain number of hours to claim Universal Credit but you are expected to work or look for work as many hours as you are able to.

Sure Start Maternity Grant
You could get a one-off payment of £500 to help towards the costs of having a child. This is known as a Sure Start Maternity Grant. To qualify you should be expecting your first child or multiple births (such as twins), and you are on qualifying benefits.

Maternity Allowance
A fortnightly or monthly payment from the government if you can’t claim Statutory Maternity Pay.

Child Benefits
You get Child Benefit if you’re responsible for bringing up a child who is under 16 or under 20 if they stay in approved education or training.

Healthy Start Vouchers
You could get free vouchers every week to spend on milk, plain fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, and infant formula milk. You can also get free vitamins. You qualify for Healthy Start Vouchers if you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four years old and you or your family are on qualifying benefits.

Tax-Free Childcare
You can get up to £500 every 3 months (up to £2,000 a year) for each of your children to help with the costs of childcare. This goes up to £1,000 every 3 months if a child is disabled (up to £4,000 a year).

Council Tax Support
Council tax support helps people who have no income or a low income to pay their council tax.

Free prescriptions and NHS dental treatment
You can get free NHS dental care in the UK while you’re pregnant and for a year after the baby is born.

Need additional information?

You can find out more by using the link below.

Find out more

Support for Disabilities

Support for parents with babies who have disabilities: 

Parents Carers Cornwall
Are you a parent/carer of a child with additional needs or disabilities? Do you attend meetings with schools, health services and organisations? Do you lack confidence in attending these on your own and wish you had someone who could go with you? Parents 4 Parents…07591 019548

Friends of Face2Face Cornwall Oasis Group
Are you the parent/carer of a child 0-25 with a disability or additional need? If so, please join us for a friendly chat with trained parent befrienders who can offer support and signpost. Also, meet with other parents/carers in a similar situation over a cuppa!

SEND Local Offer
Cornwall’s SEND Local Offer helps families by gathering in one place, the information that they need to know in order to make informed choices about the support they receive.

Cornwall's Max Card Scheme
The Max Card is the UK’s leading discount card for families of children with additional needs. Families can use their Max Card at venues across the UK to get free or discounted admission. 

Support for parents who have disabilities:

The Special Parenting Service
The Special Parenting Service (SPS) supports parents with a learning disability or difficulty. Our team helps parents by providing specialist assessments and interventions to help them achieve their parenting potential and improve outcomes for their children. The service also provides specialist consultation to health and…01209 318358

Easy read information for parents with learning difficulties

 

Useful Apps

Handi app

The HANDi Paediatric app gives up to date advice about common childhood illnesses and how to treat them. It’s now available to download for free onto any Apple or Android smartphone or tablet. The app contains information about when and how to ask for help, along with what to expect when your child is being assessed.


Baby Check app

Features 19 simple checks that parents can do if their baby is showing signs of illness. Each check tests for a different symptom and when completed, a score is calculated that tells parents or carers how ill their baby is. The app then lets parents know whether their baby needs to see a doctor or health professional

Download Baby Check app


DadPad

Is an essential guide for new dads. Take a look at the website, or you can download the appl for Apple or Android devices.

Anything Missing

This information is a constant work in progress, please get in touch with us if there's anything missing.

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