Pediatrician? How do I do this?

redjenn007 · July 2013

As a first time mom, I have no idea how to choose a pediatrician or what I do with them. Do you have to pick someone affiliated with the hospital you are delivering at so they can come see them there? Do you see a different pediatrician in the hospital and then switch to your own after? Can anyone tell me how this works? I am totally clueless.

achadwick19 · July 2013

I am feeling the same way lol so I'm gonna watch this.

Luckily I know what pediatrician I want to use.

Tally879 · July 2013

I asked a friend with kids who she uses and if she likes them. I called them and they asked if I'd like to come in and ask questions, so I'll be doing that.

VitaLuna · July 2013

You can choose anyone you want, it does not have to be affiliated with the hospital. Depending on the hospital/practice/region.. if you choose one that has hospital privileges, then they can see your baby in the hospital. Otherwise, they'll have whoever is on call see them and then you can go to your own afterwards.

RunningGal900 · July 2013

Our process works like this. You can meet with the pedi beforehand if you choose to, but you don't need to register with them as a patient in advance. You just state in your paperwork that they are your pedi and they come to the hospital both days for well checks and you go to the office at a week. We have several hospitals here though and they don't have privileges at all of them, so if you delivered at a hospital where they dot have privileges, you'd see the staff dr in the hospital and then just go to the pedi at one week. So I would look at the drs you are considering, see d they require you to register as a patient in advance and find out if they have privileges where you are delivering. Liking my pedi long term is more important than then seeing the baby in the hospital to me, but it worked out that they were able to see him.

diablesse · July 2013

I'm going to ask my friends in the area and the girls in my prenatal yoga class. I'm all about the personal referrals these days.

blondii428 · July 2013

I'm a FTM so I'm lost on this as well but I am guessing that the process will differ between insurance companies. I am planning on asking my OB when I go in next time.

HeatherMc78 · July 2013

I chose my pediatrician through word of mouth. I knew people with my ins and asked who they recommended. My dr likes to meet with new patients/first time parents before the birth. My dr does not have privileges at the hospital I am delivering at. There was a pediatrician on call that checked out my son. I then went to my dr a few days after we were discharged. When looking for a dr, it was important to me that if my child was sick they could be seen that day. Off hours, the dr returns calls promptly. Also, time spent in waiting room is not long especially when taking infants. See if they have a separate waiting room for well child check ups so your child's exposure is limited to viruses and illnesses.

atcwag · July 2013

"Thankfully" there is only one pedi office in my town. I'm more comfortable with a pedi specifically during the infant stage, but may move to a family practitioner when baby is a little older. The problem with the pedi office in my town is that you see a different Dr. each time you go in and I don't think that promotes quality care, however they are the "experts", especially when it comes to newborns.

It's probably easier if the pedi you choose has hospital privileges where you're delivering. If they don't, you'll probably just get an on-call pedi for the well visits while in the hospital, but will go to the one you choose for the 1st appointment after discharge.

Also, totally something you've thought of I'm sure, but make sure the one you pick is "in-network" for your insurance.

RedDDD · July 2013

my OB gave me some recommendations and then I asked co-workers and friends of mine that lived hear me. I ended up selecting an office and Pedi that way and bascially narrowed it down by reading the Dr Bios online. I also narrorwed it down by office location. Its easier to have it be near our house versus near my office.

amief · July 2013

Similar to many of the other ladies... I got a referral from a local board and friends. Called them to see what their procedure was. Some places here do pre-natal interviews or info sessions... this place does not. But they have a ton of information on their website which answered all of my questions. Between their website and the referrals I was comfortable enough to just sign up. I got put on his September schedule with my due date. He does have privileges at my hospital so it works out well (this was not my top priority though, as others mentioned... I cared more about liking the dr long term and was willing to have the on call dr handle if necessary. I also really wanted him affiliated with the better childrens' hospital here.. so I was looking for that.). When I pre-registered at my hospital I had to give them his name/info so they can contact him when the baby is born.

redjenn007 · July 2013

Thanks for all the helpful info everyone. This cleared up a lot!

redfallon · July 2013

We're going through this right now. I am most likely going with one of the pediatricians that are located at the hospital where I will deliver. There are 5-6 of them there and about half use our insurance and accepting new patients. I called last week and they have a "Meet the Ped's" the 2nd Tuesday of each month, so we are going tomorrow for this to get a feel for the different doctors.

We also do not have to register with the doctor beforehand, but we can put down which one we choose to let the hospital know. I'm not clear yet on whether the doctor we choose will see the baby in the hospital or if it will be the doctor on-call, but that's one of the questions we can ask tomorrow.

Curls218 · July 2013

My current OB gave me a list of pediatricians in the area, but since we're moving I asked around and got a glowing recommendation from someone for a pedi that's covered by our insurance. I called, they set up a consultation for mid-August. Then since they have hospital privileges where I'm delivering they will come when the baby is born, etc.

Word of mouth and checking your insurance web sites are the best ways to find someone and then meet with them. I don't even know what to ask specifically in the consultation, but they have done this before so I'm sure their usually speech will be prepared with all the info we'd need.

Babybabybabyohhhhhhh · July 2013

We chose to go with my pediatrician from when I was a child. He knows me and my family so it was an easy choice.

Your doctor should also be able to give you some names of pediatrician that you can call and meet with.

AlejandraN2 · July 2013

I heard that it's always good to have an informational session before you give birth so we actually did that last week at a place that was recommended by a friend. She trusted the doctors in the practice but i also wanted to meet with them myself, get a vibe of the place, check out if nurses are happy, and just talk to people. We'll most likely go with this practice especially as it's 3 blocks from our house and they are not affiliated with the hospital I'm giving birth at. So we'll see the pediatrician on call there once i give birth and then transfer all records so that the first visit (i believe 2-3 days after discharge) they have all the info. They suggested we fill in the forms prior to coming in to save time. It was actually really helpful and i asked a lot of questions.

This here is a good guide of what to ask when you meet with them - I'm sure some things may be more important to you than others but i'd say we asked about 3/4 of the questions on this list.

https://pregnant.thebump.com/pregnancy/third-trimester/qa/interviewing-a-pediatrician.aspx

smilormarie · July 2013

So, I expected that because we have Angie's List, I would be able to read reviews on every pediatrician in my area and schedule appts to meet with them in advance. Boy was I wrong. Very few pediatric practices were even listed in Angie's list in my area to begin with. So I took the recommendation I had received from Lucie's list, Pregnant Chicken, the bump, and all the baby books. Ask around. I thought - I don't know anyone with kids in my area. Everyone is in the next state or two far away in my state. But actually, there are people in my office, my cousin in another part of the state who knows of people who take their kids to great docs in my area, and recommendations from my midwife. Of those that were willing to do a new parent meeting, I was able to get 3 appts scheduled all for the same week. I'm going to prepare my questions in advance (the bump and other websites and books have examples of what to ask and what to look for) and I hope to evaluate each practice and physician the same way. I was surprised how many doctors are not willing to meet with you. I figure - their loss. And I'm not going to kill myself over the decision I make. There are doctors at my hospital regardless of whether my selected pediatrician is able to make it shortly after delivery for a check. I can easily take my baby to see them as soon as possible after discharge from the hospital. Also, it's been done before. If I have to change pediatricians later due to not liking the office, or staff, or physician, I'll do it. Your kid won't care so as long as you're happy, that's what counts. I had myself so stressed but I realized its not worth it. Even if you open a phone book, call a practice, confirm the pediatrician is licensed and board certified, find one taking new patients, schedule your first baby check up either in the hospital or shortly after you get home, you will have made the right choice.

A37licia · July 2013

This may or may not help - we found our firstborn's pedi by asking on a local message board that had other naturally-minded people. We wanted a pedi that was cool with alternate vaccinations and no circumcision, so we found one we really liked that way. I did that again when we moved out of state. We were happy with both pedis. The first one had privileges at the hospital where my DS was born, so he was able/willing to come to our room to do the newborn exam.

krose0713 · July 2013

I found this Lucie's List article to have some good info

https://admin.lucieslist.com/how-to-find-a-pediatrician

CutieBean79 · July 2013

VitaLuna:
You can choose anyone you want, it does not have to be affiliated with the hospital. Depending on the hospital/practice/region.. if you choose one that has hospital privileges, then they can see your baby in the hospital. Otherwise, they'll have whoever is on call see them and then you can go to your own afterwards.

Yep. We went off recommendations and went to an open house to select ours. She has privileges at the best local hospital for children, but not at the hospital I deliver. It was no biggie to see the hospital pedi just to give DD the all clear.

abell77 · July 2013

I chose to deliver at at hospital more than 30 miles from my home because I loved that hospital and it was a one time event, but I did not want to go that far for a pediatrician we would be seeing on a regular basis. They just had the pediatrician on call at the hospital check out the baby there, then we called our chosen pediatrician who was closer to home and set up an appointment for a couple days later. It was easy. I would have one chosen before you deliver; the hospital likes to know that you have already planned for that before they discharge you.

Pediatrician? How do I do this?

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