Speaking at the annual Unite and Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association conference in Bournemouth, Ashworth said analysis conducted by Labour has found that in the 12 months between June 2017 and June 2018, the total number of health visitors in England fell by 678 - from 8,588 health visitors to 7,912.
The total number had peaked at 10,309 in October 2015 following a five-year government drive to recruit an additional 4,200 health visitors, but it has since been falling.
Ashworth said numbers are now at their lowest level since October 2012, and highlighted a recent survey that found more than one in five health visitors are working with caseloads of more than 500 children as evidence that practitioners are under "intense pressure" with "potentially serious consequences".
He warned that government cuts are dismantling the country's public health system, failing some of the most vulnerable in our society and leaving children's services at risk.
"Unlike the Tories, I'm committed to giving every child the best possible start in life and central to our strategy will be delivering more health visitors in every community, ending the stark inequalities that continue to blight our children's future," he said.
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