Listening to new parents

At the start of 2026, Healthwatch Warwickshire staff visited Children and Family Centres to engage with young families and new parents, inviting them to share their experiences of health and care services. Additionally, they heard from parents, grandparents, and professionals working with them, through our general community engagement across Warwickshire in the last three months. This report brings together all 72 pieces of feedback regarding health visiting and services for new parents heard between November 2025 – March 2026.

Parents should receive 5 statutory visits from a health visitor over the first two years of their child’s life. During our engagement Healthwatch heard that experiences varied and not all parents were aware of how to access, or what support is offered by, health visitors. When speaking to parents, Healthwatch staff frequently provided signposting to the online health visiting clinic time-table and contact details for the service.

Whilst Healthwatch heard praise for the health visiting service from some families, they also heard concerns from those who had a poor understanding of the service,  issues with communication or referrals and about a perceived reduction in the services available. Families also shared their experience of wider services for new parents, particularly praising the support of their local Children’s Centres.