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Help and support with the cost of living

Ante-natal contact

From 1 October 2026, your child’s Health Visiting and School Nursing service is provided by Locala Health and Wellbeing.

Locala is a social enterprise providing community health and wellbeing services, working with children, young people, families and communities to improve health outcomes and support healthier lives.

While the organisation providing the service has changed, this does not affect the support available to you.

Contact Locala 0-19 Service on:

ChatHealth: text 07312 263176 for advice from the Salford School Nursing Team.

Or download Salford’s Essential Parent App for trusted advice and guidance, from evidence based sources, on all aspects of pregnancy, babies, toddlers, children and teenagers. It offers personalised information for you and your baby, based on their birthday or due date.

Download from the App Store or from Google Play Store

Your baby’s midwife will advise us that you are expecting a baby.

Locala Logo - Health and Wellbeing

Your families named Health Visitor will contact you by letter or phone to complete an Antenatal assessment either at home or virtually between 28 and 32 weeks of your pregnancy. We welcome Fathers/partners at all contacts.

If you have any concerns about your pregnancy, further support and advice can be given. Please contact your 0-19 team.

The health visitor will ask you about your feelings about the pregnancy, your health and will discuss your unborn baby’s health and development.

This contact will enable us to get to know you and your family and it is also a chance for you to ask any questions you may have or to discuss any worries and concerns.

Online antenatal course – The Togetherness online pathway

Would you like to know more about your journey to parenthood? The Togetherness online pathway: Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby is for parents or carers who are expecting, providing bitesize stages for daily steps towards confident parenting and connected relationships.

This antenatal pathway helps you prepare for your new baby’s arrival with confidence. Join this pathway to learn about labour, birth and connecting with your new baby.

Written by NHS midwives alongside clinical psychologists, this pathway is for all parents.

The important relationships in your baby’s life help shape their emotional wellbeing. We’ll help you prepare all the practical things for a safe labour and birth. We will also share ideas to help build a healthy relationship for your baby to thrive.

Along this pathway you will find lots of practical information about:

  • Preparing for labour and birth – understanding your options, pain management, and hypnobirthing

  • Postnatal care and recovery – taking care of yourself or partner after birth

  • Feeding, soothing, and keeping your baby safe – tips for nurturing your newborn

  • Breathing and relaxation techniques – to support both birth and emotional well-being

You will also learn about early brain development, emotional health for babies and how to care for your own wellbeing.

How to access the course:

Technical support: Please use our Togetherness support form or telephone 0121 296 4448, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Pennine Care NHS Trust: Getting it right from the start

Information available to you

Feeding your baby

Whether you're breast or bottle feeding, here is some handy information to help you. See the feeding your baby section of the Locala website. Breastfeeding in Salford is another great resource.

You can also read about Vitamin D, and the Healthy Start Programme and why it is important and who needs to take supplements.

Healthy Start gives you and your family the best start in life.

Attachment and bonding

Institute of Health Visiting (IHV) have produced some information about getting to know your baby.

The NSPCC have produced a guide: Handle with care – Keeping your baby safe (Adobe PDF format).

Emotional mental health

Maternal mental ill health can seem a complex and daunting prospect but it is far more common than you may think with every 1 in 10 new mothers experiencing some form of depression or anxiety.  

Research is now showing that parental depression and anxiety can have a long term impact on a child’s emotional wellbeing, however the good news is that these affects can be overcome with good support. Don’t forget that you can always talk to your health visitor about how you are feeling.  If your child is under 1 year, your health visitor will be able to offer additional listening visits to help support you and your baby.

Emotional health and wellbeing for mothers

Download the understanding your mental health and emotional wellbeing factsheet from the IHV.

Emotional health and wellbeing for fathers

Being a new dad can be a roller-coaster of emotions. Some men say that seeing their baby being born was the most fantastic thing in their life whilst others may say it was the worse experience ever!

Download the understanding your emotional health and wellbeing factsheet for fathers from the IHV

Everybody is different and will react to parenthood in many different ways. If you are ever concerned about your own mental health or that of your partner contact your 0-19 team. For useful and practical information for dads why not download the dadpad app - a must have for new dads.

Dad Matters exists to support dads to have the best possible relationship with their children. We work closely with other professionals within Salford to better support dads in the first 1001 days of their parenting journey.

Crying baby

It is normal for a baby to cry, but how do you cope when the crying never seems to stop?

You can talk to a friend, your health visitor or GP, or contact the Cry-sis helpline on 08451 228 669, open 9am to 10pm, seven days a week. You'll be charged for your call.

Cry-sis can put you in touch with other parents who have been in the same situation.

ICON is a programme aimed at helping parents and carers with young babies to cope with infant crying. Read the ICON leaflet (Adobe PDF format).

Safe sleep

As well as putting baby down to sleep on their back, how else can you encourage safer sleep?

Immunisations and vaccinations

Are you wondering which vaccinations your child needs and when they should have them? You'll find more information about vaccinations on the NHS website.

NHS factsheets

Infant development

ERIC's guide to potty training.

Taking care of children`s teeth, advice from the NHS.

Concerned about your child’s speech? Visit Speak up Salford for lots of helpful advice and resources.

Top tips for talking from the National Literacy Trust.

Reading with your baby from the Book Trust.

Visit the hungry little minds campaign for simple fun activities for children aged 0 to 5.

See how to reduce unintentional injuries in children under 5 years from the IHV.

The Baby Check App - The Lullaby Trust

The 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 a health professional.

This page was last updated on 23 October 2026

Your 0-19 Service (health visiting and school nursing)

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