Your baby will be regularly examined throughout her early life at key stages of development by your doctor or health visitor. Our family GP, Howard Lee, tells you what they are checking for

At birth she is given an Apgar score: usually repeated five minutes later, if necessary. This examination, with a maximum of two points being awarded for five major areas of function, is the very first of many examinations and assessments. Your baby will be examined, of course, at any other time if you have worries. You will be given details describing when certain events in your baby’s development are to be expected, and will be able to refer to these if you have particular concerns.

Your baby is an individual, and will develop at her own pace. This can, of course, be affected by how she is helped to learn. Your health professionals are there to verify that development is within normal ranges, and offer encouragement to you in order to develop certain skills in other areas, if this is ever necessary.

A complete physical examination will be carried out before you bring your baby home, or within a short time of baby’s birth. The next major examination, usually carried out by your GP, will occur at around six to eight weeks when your baby is due for her first vaccinations. This will include a physical examination of her heart, breathing, and general development of her joints, limbs, and muscles. The hip joints particularly are examined for proper development. Observations of eye movements and response to sounds are noted. Your own observations are also very valuable in these first few weeks and you should discuss any worries that you may have.

At all examinations your baby’s development will also be judged by her weight, length and head circumference measurements. These will be charted and you’ll be able to follow her progress in her records, which you will almost certainly keep with you.

Similar examinations are carried out at 6-9 months, 18-24 months, and 3-3 ½ years of age, together with an assessment of vision. Some time between 6-8 months your Health Visitor tests your baby’s hearing. At the pre-school examination, 4½ - 5½ years, GPs checks most areas of physical development once again. The times of these standard assessment examinations vary in some parts of the country.

Try not to compare one child with another; there will be natural variations. If at any time you are concerned about your child’s development talk to your health visitor or doctor. They will always listen to your concerns, which are often more helpful to them than the observations they make themselves at formal assessments.