Do you have a pediatrician in mind yet?

The hospital registration forms are going to ask for your pediatrician’s contact information. This is because your pediatrician will need to examine the baby shortly after delivery as well as release the child from the hospital after the minimum 24 hours period.

Picking a pediatrician is a big choice as you will be spending a lot of time with them over the first year of your child’s life (well-baby checkups are at regular intervals throughout the first five years, and then there are other time you will see them). You will need to set up an interview schedule and start the process soon. Almost all pediatricians have a “Get to Know Me” appointment schedule in which you will come in and ask your questions, they will give you a background on their practice and you will likely get a tour of their office. This is also a good way to make sure that a certain doctor is even taking new patients, as you can’t just assume that a doctor you want is available. There are a number of ways to get your list of potential doctors. You can ask your general practitioner for a recommendation. You can talk to other moms in your area. You can ask you local family and friends who they go to. And you can look in your insurance company’s directory of covered practitioners (which you will want to do anyway before you arrange to meet with anyone). Once you have your list of potentials and have made the interview appointments you will need to come up with the basic issues you want to address. It is very important that your pediatrician share your views on child-rearing. Here are some topics to discuss:

1. Feeding – if you plan to breastfeed you want a doctor that encourages this and is not going to push a bottle on you, and vice versa.
2. Circumcision – if you have a boy you will need to make a choice about whether or not to have this done. Know that the AMA has declared this to no longer be a medically necessary procedure, so your insurance may not cover it. However, they likely will if your spouse or other children have had it done and you want to make the new baby “fit in” and not feel different later on in life.
3. Medication Prescription – if you are a family that turns to meds at the first sign of sniffles, you need a doctor on the same page. If you like to try other things first, you will need a doctor that will work with you.
4. What is the after-hours/emergency program at this office?
5. Do they have the same ideas about vaccination as you do?
6. Are there other doctors in the same office, and if so will you be required/able to see them if your own doctor is unavailable.
7. You also just want to get a feel for the personality of the doctor, can you get along with him/her and will you feel comfortable asking some uncomfortable questions.
8. Some people like to take into account the age of the doctor. While wisdom comes with age, you may not want to start with a doctor who will be retiring before your child is 3 years old.

Word of the Week

Circumcision – noun – surgical removal of the foreskin of males (www.dictionary.com)

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