My son, Jethro was born full term via elective c section at 39 weeks gestation. All pre pregnancy checks were normal and no abnormalities were detected on pre natal scans. When he arrived into the world he was all present and correct, all newborn screens were normal including the head circumference measurement that was taken at birth.

The first 5 weeks of his life were pretty normal, he drank his milk, slept soundly and began to show signs of normal development. We had noticed that his eyes were pointing down a lot (this was later proven to be sunsetting eyes a warning sign of hydrocephalus) but brushed it off as newborn eyes that just aren’t ready to focus.

Just before 6 weeks of age he had a six week check with his health visitor to do the all of the usual baby checks, and this thankfully included a head circumference measurement. This measurement showed that Jethro’s head had increased rapidly from 25% at birth to 75% six weeks later. This sudden jump in head size and the unusual eyes direction, prompted the health visitor to advise we get a GP appointment as soon as possible to rule out hydrocephalus. At this point Jethro wasn’t showing signs of being unwell so it wasn’t felt he needed to go to A&E immediately.

This GP appointment prompted a referral to hospital and eventually led to his hydrocephalus being diagnosed, and being treated with a VP shunt. I wholeheartedly believe that the head circumference measurements taken by his health visitor at that six week health check saved Jethro’s life. As he was seeming so well for so long, without that head measurement being completed I am not entirely sure when we would have sought help for our son, and what the devastating effects that would have had on him.