After your baby is born, a maternal and child health nurse from your local area will visit your home.
Maternal and child health nurses work in partnership with families to care for babies and young children until they start school. The service is free for all Victorian families.
You will visit a maternal and child health nurse at 10 key ages and stages from birth to three and a half years.
Your nurse can help you with things like breastfeeding and feeding your child; sleep and settling, making sure your child is growing, learning and developing well; being a parent and looking after yourself.
This is your first key age and stage visit with a maternal and child health nurse – there are 10 visits in total from the birth of your baby to when your child is three and a half years.
On this first visit, a nurse from your local community usually comes to your home. The rest of the appointments will be at a maternal and child health service in your municipality.
The purpose of these visits is to check how you and your child are progressing, obtain advice and address any issues you may have.
Don't forget your 'green book'
When your baby was born, you should have received a copy of My Health, Learning and Development – green book. This book belongs to you and your baby and is full of information about early child development, and services and support.
Make sure you take your green book with you each time you see your nurse so you can jot down any issues, and record information on your baby's growth and development.
If you don't have a green book, let your nurse know.
What happens at my first maternal and child health visit?
This visit is a chance for you and your maternal and child health nurse to get to know each other and talk about any concerns.
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