If you are expecting your first baby, one of most important parts of your preparation will be to find the right Pediatrician to provide care for your new child.  This a big decision that can take some time and require considerable thought.  If you find one you are really comfortable with though, you’ll be establishing a relationship that could last for many years.  Having a doctor both you and you child are comfortable with can give you great peace of mind as your child grows. 

Where to look for a baby Doctor, who to ask

You’ll want to get started with this process early on as you will not want to be rushed
into making a choice that doesn’t result in a good fit.  Where do you start?  An obvious
place would be with doctors you already know and have confidence in.  If you’ve found the obstetrician who will be delivering your baby, ask them for some names. Your current primary care physician will also know some in the area. 

Ask other mothers who you know who have young children.  Also, when you are in the offices of a physician, ask some the staff you might be friendly with who they would go to if they needed a baby doctor.  These people often have some pretty strong opinions and an insider’s view.  Taking this approach will result in working only with referred names rather than just calling your hospital or looking through the phone book.  There are many sources and directories available, but a personal reference is much more valuable.

Creating a list of doctors

As you begin making inquiries of these sources and making up your list, be sure to ask how long these people have know the doctors, and why they particularly feel good about them.  Ask them very generally what they like about their doctor.  Listen to them.  What they tell you will probably have little to do with what school the doctor graduated from and come much more from personal impressions gained from interacting with them. It will be interesting to hear what’s really important about a doctor to them. 

Your next step will be to call their offices and arrange to meet personally with these doctors.  Though they have the typical busy schedules doctors tend to have, most will be willing to schedule a meeting as they know how people are about choosing a doctor for their new baby.  They know and understand what you are doing. 

What to look for in a Pediatrician: competence and compassion

When you meet with these doctors, you are looking for a blend of medical competence
and experience along  with the human side of medical care.  Of course you want up to
date professional competence.  However, also important is the less technical, personal
touch side of what they provide.  Do you get the impression they will have a genuine
concern for you and your child?   What do they sound like when they talk about children? 
Do they have children themselves?  This whole meeting is going to be about you asking
questions, so this is the time to evaluate how responsive they are to you and how
comfortable you feel with attention you get from this doctor.

You want to hear the doctor talk about more than treatment of specific medical issues.
What do they say about proactive things like prevention of disease, and elements of child
development in general?

Selecting the right pediatric office
In your interviews, you may only be in their office a brief time.  However, be observant.
Take a good look at the overall office.  How clean is it?  Does it have a professional feel
and appearance?  Try to talk with some of the staff or at least observe them interact with
the other parents and their children.  While waiting, if you have the opportunity, ask
another parent in the waiting room how long they have been coming there and how they like it. 

You will of course want to know if a particular doctor is covered by you health plan.  Also important are basic things, like where their office is located?  How close to local emergency rooms and hospitals are they? You should also ask how they handle situations where they are not on call, and who you would call in that instance.  Find out if the doctor is part of a group in that office and how they normally share patients when a doctor is absent or away on vacation. 

Ask about how they handle a situation that requires urgent care or an emergency.  Which hospitals they would want a baby admitted to for such care a where that is located.  Also find out what they would have you do if an urgent situation should arise on a weekend.

When should the pediatrician begin seeing your baby?

Hospitals have pediatricians on call will typically examine your baby shortly after birth. Typically, though when you are admitted, the hospital will ask if you have your own baby doctor yet.  You should ask how your pediatrician will be able to get information regarding care given to the newborn while at the hospital.   

Follow up and regular baby progress exams

You will probably have read something about the typical schedule for follow up visits for an infant in the first year.  Ask the doctor you are interviewing about what kind and how many follow ups he normally expects for a healthy new baby.  

Baby’s care the first year and beyond

Hopefully, you will have found a doctor who will be an important resource for a long time.  However, be observant, trust your intuition and gut feel.  If things are going smoothly, and you are becoming quite comfortable with a doctor, keep moving forward. If you aren’t feeling more at ease as the office visits continue, consider looking for another health care provider.  It’s your child, your peace of mind and your money.

»Choosing the right hospital for your baby’s birth