When a new baby is on the way, the list of things for new parents to figure out seems endless. Few decisions can feel like they have higher stakes than those that protect your child’s health. That makes finding a pediatrician one of the most important tasks for families who are expecting. Dr. Marie Batty, a Washington University pediatrician with Blue Fish Pediatrics, offers guidance for new parents looking for a doctor for their newborn.
When should parents start the process of looking for a pediatrician? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting while still pregnant, usually around the beginning of the third trimester or the 28-to-30-week mark. You can start earlier. The whole idea is that you should take your time to look up which practices fit your family, and make a decision that is as informed as possible.
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What kinds of resources are recommended for informing that decision? The OBGYN is a good starting place for recommendations. In addition to friends and family offering up who their pediatricians are, a lot of people have turned to social media. There are mom groups on Facebook and other sources. Overall, find people you trust and who align with your beliefs. From there, put together a list of popular practices and use that as a jumping block to start your research.
What are some of the questions parents should ask themselves during their search? You can start pretty early on to determine which characteristics are most important. Do you want a family medicine doctor or a pediatrician? Do you care if it’s a male or female doctor? Do you care how old the provider is? One of the major things is location. How close is the doctor to your house? Especially in the first year of life, kids get sick a lot and you’re going to be at the pediatrician’s office a lot. So proximity is something that’s really valued by a lot of families.
Is there a recommended number of visits families should make to their pediatrician during the first year? Your pediatrician will guide you, but I think we usually see babies at least seven or eight times during their first year. We’ll see them at their newborn visit, one month, two months, four months, six months, nine months and then 12 months.
How important is it to make sure there’s some chemistry between parents and the doctor—and, eventually, the child and the doctor? All of this research that you’re doing is about comfort. That’s something that you’re going to figure out while meeting with prospective pediatricians during those early visits. As your child gets a little older and have a little bit more personality to express their own views down the line, if you find that the comfort is not there, by all means, address that. We want everyone to be happy in pediatrician-child, or pediatrician-parent relationship. Early on, parental comfort and making sure parents feel like their opinions are being valued and their concerns are being taken seriously is really important.
