When I was pregnant with my first child, I chose my future baby’s pediatrician based primarily on location. Her office was less than a five minute drive from my house. She was also a legitimate, board certified doctor with a pleasant demeanor, and that seemed good enough for me.
As my new baby grew, the relationship with my doctor became awkward. According to the physician, my daughter wasn’t fitting into the proper growth chart category; she was underweight in relation to her length. This professional viewpoint confused me. I breastfed my baby when she demanded to be fed. She spit up if she was overfed. How was it possible to feed her any more?
As time went on, I added solid foods to my daughter’s diet, and she remained at the 90th percentile in length and the 25th percentile in weight. The numbers were always the same at every checkup, even as she grew into a toddler. My doctor was still concerned, encouraging me to feed her more. She even requested that I bring the child in for ad hoc weight checks, a signal to me that she was suspecting negligence on my part.
Although the doctor meant well, I eventually decided that I was ready for a new pediatrician. Based on a referral from a friend, I found a wonderful pediatrician who assured me that a toddler with a long, lean body was fine, especially since that seemed to be her normal growth pattern throughout her short life. My daughter is now a happy five year-old, and she is still long and lean, a trait that many people in my family share.
It has been five years, two children, and what feels like a world of wisdom since my first meeting with the pediatrician. Based on my experience, I have compiled a list of personal advice for new moms looking for a medical care for their babies.
- Meet the other doctors in the practice. Your doctor will not always be available when you need him, and there will be plenty of office visits with other physicians. It makes for a fairly unpleasant appointment when the attending pediatrician doesn’t seem to care for children or respect you as a parent.
- A separate waiting room for sick kids isn’t as important as it seems. The idea – to keep sick kids away from the healthy ones – is a good one. But I don’t see many kids or parents using the room, perhaps in fear that they might catch a disease in addition to the one they already have. Sick waiting room or none, it is always a risk when you take healthy kids into a doctor’s office. Prepare for it.
- Office hours are important. Our new pediatrician once closed early on Fridays and opened late on other days. They have since changed their hours to make it more convenient for families.
- Ask about care provided after office hours. My first pediatric practice had a very cumbersome way to get in touch with an after-hours nurse by phone. My new practice has a direct line – with minimal hold times – to a professional nursing staff.
- Think about the long-term relationship with your chosen doctor. Does your child or family have continuing special needs that a doctor should understand or support? Do you prefer a male or female for your son or daughter as the child grows?
- Ask your friends. As with other professional services, an endorsement from friends, family or mothers from online parenting networks, helps greatly when searching for quality medical care for your family.
- If you change pediatricians, think twice before you pay any fees for records. The practice that you are leaving may charge you a hefty fee to copy your child’s records and mail them to the new doctor. Instead, ask your new doctor’s office to make the request for records, and there will likely not be a fee incurred.
Most of us are fortunate enough to have a choice of pediatricians, so why not find the one whose office hours, values and demeanor suits you and your family.