Why Continuing Child Welfare Clinic Visits Are Crucial for Your Child’s Health

As a mother or caregiver of a toddler, have you ever wondered why you should continue taking your child to child welfare clinics after they turn two? Well, according to Mr Samuel Atuahene Antwi, a Nutritionist at the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, these visits are vital for your child’s health and development.

For the most part, mothers and caregivers abruptly stop taking their children to the welfare clinics for vaccinations and health check-ups after they turn two. However, Mr Antwi advises that children should continue to visit the welfare clinic every six months until they turn five.

The child welfare clinics help health providers detect defects in children for early interventions, especially those related to developmental stages such as speech and walking. The clinics also offer growth monitoring and promotion services, where the child’s weight is checked and plotted on the gender-appropriate graph to ensure normal growth or detect any deviations.

In addition to weighing and vaccinations, the welfare clinics offer counselling on proper childcare, including training on how to properly feed a child during exclusive breastfeeding and complimentary feeding. The clinics also provide family planning services, food demonstrations, hygiene education, and birth certificate registration.

Unfortunately, some mothers come to the clinic appearing too busy and only want their child measured quickly for them to leave. Mr Antwi reminds them that the clinic is not just for weighing, but also for proper childcare counselling, which is crucial for the child’s future.

During the visits, children receive vitamin A supplements and other vaccinations that help prevent sickness and infant mortality. By age two, a child should have received 13 vaccines, including BCG, Hepatitis B, yellow fever, measles-rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, influenza, rotavirus, polio, and meningitis A.

In summary, child welfare clinic visits are crucial for your child’s health and development. The clinics offer more than just weighing and vaccinations; they provide counselling on proper childcare, family planning services, food demonstrations, hygiene education, and birth certificate registration. Therefore, mothers and caregivers should continue to take their children to welfare clinics every six months until they turn five.