Pediatrician Search

Reekraut

At what point do you need to start looking for a pediatrician? I'm 22 weeks & have no idea when I need to do this. Also, what should I be concerned with - are there specific things that I should ask when I call the office?

NYBoston05

I would try to get recs from any friends that live in your are with kids as to where they go....  Then check to see if they take new patients, what their hours are, if they have a call in hour, their call return policy and what hospital they are affiliated with.

For me, the call in hour was super important (7-8am everyday you can call and ask any questions to a nurse)  The fact that they take sick patients on weekends and have later hours 2 nights a week until 7 were important to me.  Also they try to call yu back w/in an hour if you call with a sick baby or question. 

shar0805

We went with a convenient location at first, but later realized that it wasn't a good fit.  At the first place, we hardly ever saw a doctor and unfortunately received an incorrect diagnosis from some of the nurses.  We've since changed to a small practice (Dr. Gleyzer at North Reading Pediatrics) where we see the doctor every single time--even just for a shot.  We love that our doctor knows our son and can take as much time as we need with each visit.  We never have a problem scheduling a visit.  I feel like he's getting better quality care now.  And walk-in hours are helpful to have too because you're bound to need them at some point  

 What area are you in?  That might help with getting recommendations.  Also, see if there's a mother's group in your area (maybe search Meetup.com).  The group might have a discussion board where you could get recommendations. 

 Good luck! 

saturdaynightdoubletree

Everything everyone else said...

you also want to get an idea for how they feel about things such as immunizations (if you want to have them delayed, or anything else), how they feel about circumcisions (if you have a boy - some offices are for it, some against, and some neutral)...

the most important thing for me has been the affiliation with the hospital we delivered at... they were there every morning checking in before we were discharged. the office hours are amazing, 2 locations, on-call, doctors hours in the am (to call and ask ?'s). I love the office we go to because they are open to various parenting styles, ideas, etc as long as LO stays healthy and is growing regularly.

GL!

Reekraut

Thanks all for the helpful advice. I live in Westwood, so ideally, I'm trying to find a good Ped in the Westwood, Dedham, Norwood vicinity.

 If anyone uses a Ped in these areas & are really happy with them, please let me know! Thanks!

HBaylies

In my packet from my OB at my first visit, it said to be ready to give the name of your choosen pediatrician by the end of the 2nd trimester.  They also gave a list of local pediatric and family practices and the doctors that work there for suggestions.

From there I turned to FB to ask friends of they had any raves or rants about any doctors they had experiences with.

Then I took two popular practices from the reviews and set up prenatal interviews at each office.

I asked about their hours, sick visit policies, a schedule for necessary newbron visits at what weeks,and a list of the vaccines that would be required from the state and which ones are just encouraged.

My family also leads an organic and as chemical-free lifestyle as possibe, so I made sure he would be okay with me coming up with alternatives for certain lotions, medications and such.  I felt very confident after leaving the offices.