Finding a Doctor: Pediatrician

As a new parent you will discover rather quickly that babies are notorious for getting sick in the middle of the night with painful earaches or chronic colic when you least expect it and a pediatrician can be a saving grace to any parent’s sanity. Even the most seasoned parents know the value of having a pediatrician to call when a fever spikes or you simply don’t know what to do to comfort a sick child.

If you’re new to the whole parenting gig, you will likely have plenty of input from friends, family, co workers and even total strangers about the best and the worst pediatricians to either seek out or avoid completely. If you’re lucky enough to live in a town big enough to have multiple doctor pediatrician practices you can be picky and select the practice that best suites your needs. If however you’re in a smaller town your choice may be limited to one practice to pick from. Regardless of how many practices you have to select from however your options are not limited.

Within the pediatrician practice itself you should be able to find one doctor to act as your child’s primary care physician that will oversee your child’s care for the most part. Although, it’s unrealistic to expect you will see your primary for every appointment, especially if you need to get in on the same day.

The advantage to a large practice is the fact that you can get in the same day you call for a sick child and you will eventually get to meet every pediatrician and discover for yourself which doctor you like and which ones you don’t for future visits.

Another advantage is the fact that that even if your child sees multiple doctors within the practice they will still be able to maintain the same level of care and their records will follow them so no vital information will be lost in transit.

You should begin your search for a pediatrician before your baby is born so you have a doctor ready to do your newborn check up and preventive care check ups that follow so closely on the heels of giving birth. At about seven or eight months into your pregnancy you should start asking around and doing your research on doctors and be sure to talk to your own doctor about a referral as well.

Once your baby is born, you will be too sleep deprived and busy with your baby’s round the clock care to have the luxury of doing a proper search for a pediatrician so don’t put it off until after the birth thinking you can take care of it later.