'We're behind on baby checks for serious condition'
A charity has met with the Health Secretary to argue that more checks are needed in infancy to find a serious condition that can cause brain damage.
Hydrocephalus is caused by excess spinal fluid or some call it "water on the brain".
Founder of Hampshire-based charity Harry's Hat, Caroline, said: "About one-in-770 babies get hydrocephalus. That is as common as Down's syndrome."
Health practitioners in England and Wales are currently expected to measure a baby's head shortly after birth and then six-to-eight weeks later to see if a baby's head is too big.
Source: BBC online, 13 January 2025