Interview with health visitor PDF

Preview

Summary

Download Interview with health visitor PDF

Description

Student Registration Number: 481212 10.12.2013

6104 Health and Therapeutics Assessment 1 – Report

Interview with the health visitor – Joan Clarke Appendix 1 – Manuscript Questions 1.) What are the benefits of breastfeeding babies and would you advise new mothers to breastfeed? Answer from health visitor - There are a number of benefits of breastfeeding your baby, the first being that breastfeeding provides the adequate amount of nutrients, vitamins and minerals at the correct temperature for babies. Breastfeeding alleviates the risk of babies developing infections early on such as diarrhoea, vomiting, chest and ear infections as a result of the antibodies being passed from the breast milk. It is suggested by the department of health that mothers should breastfeed their babies for the first six months to maximise their babies overall health; breastfeeding enhances the bonding and attachment process between mother and baby. It is also advantageous to breastfeed babies because it reduces the risk of babies developing obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma in later life. All health visitors advise and encourage new mothers to breastfeed from the offset yet we leave the option open to parents on whether or not they want to breast or bottle feed their baby. 2.) When is the best time to start weaning babies and what food should parents avoid giving their baby? Answer from health visitor – New mothers are encouraged to start weaning their babies from the age of six months onwards and not before that then. The reason for this is because babies’ digestive systems are not ready to cope with solid foods from an early age and giving babies foods before this age can increase the risk of developing gastroenteritis and food allergies as they cannot cope with the pathogens in the food. From six months onwards babies are at the age were they curious to taste different tastes and textures. We advise parents to start weaning their babies on wheat based food usually foods that contain gluten such as bread, rusks, and breakfast cereals, meat, eggs, citrus fruits and vegetables that are fortified with vitamins and minerals. Parents must ensure that they cook eggs fully ensuring that the yolk and white are hard and runny to avoid funny poisoning. We inform parents that they must not give their babies nuts and seeds as they can choke and junk food must be avoided such as sweets, biscuits and crisps as they contain high quantities of fats and sugars. Soft and unpasteurised cheeses should be avoided because they contain bacteria that babies cannot cope with that can make them very unwell. 3.) What do you advise parents on a low income to feed their children to ensure they get a varied diet? Answer from health visitor – We advise parents on a low income to feed their baby simple foods like cereals such as baby rice with milk, mashed cooked vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, parsnip and carrots as well as mashed banana, avocado and pear. These fruit and vegetables are very cheap to buy compared to readymade baby foods; in fact prepared baby foods are often high in sugar and contain additives for their baby and therefore parents own made meals are often healthier for their baby. Parents on a low budget just need to ensure that they feed their baby foods from each food group including carbohydrates such as potatoes and pasta, proteins such as meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, and milk and dairy foods. There is always help at hand for parents as we inform parents on the healthy start scheme vouchers that offer £3.10 per week to families to buy milk, fruit and vegetables for their children. 4.) How can parents make food interesting and healthy for their children? Answer from the health visitor – The best advice that we aim to give to parents is to promote healthy foods and snacks with your child as early as you can as this will encourage healthy eating habits for a lifetime. We encourage parents to add dips and spread to fruit and veg e.g. dipping carrots in cheese spreads. Health visitors

Student Registration Number: 481212 10.12.2013

6104 Health and Therapeutics Assessment 1 – Report

advise trying a broad selection of fruit and vegetables, fruit smoothies or even use a shape cutter in the shape of stars or circles to cut out of toast or cheese slices to make the food more interesting. 5.) How do parents encourage healthy eating habits in their children? Answer from health visitor – All health visitors recommend that families have regular meals together as children like consistency and it gives opportunity to introduce new foods to children as they can see their parents and siblings eating healthy foods. Parents need to be role models to their children and therefore they should ideally be eating healthy foods to give children the right messages about food; that they must eat healthy. It is useful for parents to make sure they provide portion control when giving their child meals as they do not want to provide too little or too much on their plate. The department of health recommend that parents give their child smaller portions of food to allow children to have more if they are still hungry. It is important that parents involve their child in the selection of healthy foods at the supermarket and parents should be asking them what they would like to eat making sure it is healthy and then cooking it together at home. Parents should avoid having junk foods in the house as these are too tempting for children; instead parents should be offering snack of fruit and vegetables to their child. Children should be having the regular three meals per day with two snacks per day and this must contain their five portions of fruit and vegetables a day in their diet. 6.) What do you advise for parents whose children are overweight? Answer from health visitor – We would firstly take weight and heights measurements of each child to determine whether or not they are at a healthy weight for their age and height. If we find that a child is overweight we take further action by devising a diet plan for the child depending on how overweight they are. The next step would be to monitor the child’s weight and we advise the child’s parents to keep the child’s weight the same as they grow taller, however we inform parents that their child is still growing and therefore they still need energy from food but it has to be nutritious foods. We keep records of the child’s weight on their child health record to make note of their diet progress and keep up to date with their height and weight changes. The health visitor would then encourage parents to coax their child to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Parents are told to try and cut down on the saturated fats, sugary foods and drinks and salt and when their child is hungry they must provide healthy snacks. It is essential that the child also receives enough exercise; the department of health recommend that children should be getting between 30-60 minutes of physical activity every day yet this does not have to be done in one block period. We encourage parents to go on bike rides, to the local park and swimming with their children as these all aim to keep children fit and healthy. 7.) What strategies do you have in place to prevent and monitor obesity in children? Answer from the health visitor – Over the last few year childhood obesity has risen in 2010 it was found that 17% of boys and 15% of girls were obese in the UK. The National child measurement programme stated that school children aged 4-5 years and 10-11 years old need to have their height and weight measured by health visitors across England. Therefore, all health visitors are required to undertake accurate measurements of young children to ensure they are the correct weight for their age and height. We tend to find that obesity has clear links to socioeconomic deprivation and is more prevalent in urban areas and therefore we provide substantial advice, help and support on obesity to families who are from areas of deprivation. All health visitors have the children’s best interests at heart as we aim to inform parents early on the dangers of child obesity and the diet and recipes families can follow to reduce the risk of children developing obesity which can lead to diabetes and heart disease later on in a child’s life....