Maternity/Pregnancy

Health Visitors

Health visitors have a particular responsibility for all children under 5. They are registered nurses with extra training in health promotion in the community. As well as running regular clinics, they are happy to give advise on any aspect of health and welfare of children and babies. They can be contacted on their direct line, telephone number 0333 234 1904 on which there is an answer phone facility for when they are out of their offices.

Midwives

There is a team of midwives working in the community and in the Maternity Unit at the Okehampton Community Hospital and visiting new mothers until the baby is 10 - 14 days old. They can be contacted via the Community Hospital on 01837 658013 on which there is an answer phone facility for when they are out of their offices.

Perinatal Mental Health

A 'perinatal' mental health problem is one that you experience any time from becoming pregnant up to a year after you give birth. It's natural to experience a range of emotions during pregnancy and after giving birth, but if any difficult feelings start to have a big effect on your day-to-day life, you might be experiencing a perinatal mental health problem. This might be a new mental health problem, or an episode of a problem you've experienced in the past. For more information, click here to read the NHS page on 'Mental Health in Pregnancy'. Alternatively, please click here to view Mind's page on Perinatal Mental Health.