Pediatrician VS Family Doctor

JNR6510 · May 2017

What are you ladies going to / planning to use? Is there any particular reason you like one over the other? Pros? Cons?

DH and I have a family doctor that we love. He is always available when we need him. Super friendly and takes the time to thoroughly explains things. Plus I love that he is always very timely for all of his appointments. Half the time if you check in 15-20 minutes early, he will already be ready for you. It is really a wonderful experience. We are debating staying with the family doctor for Laurel too. I was not very fond of the pediatrician office. My experiences with them while babysitting for a friend did not leave a very good impression.

maddisonwallace · May 2017

We chose a pediatrician. I would rather take my baby to someone who specializes in little ones and sees them all day every day than more of a general practice.
In Grey's terms, would you want a general surgeon doing your brain surgery? Or would you want a neurosurgeon?

Thags just the way i see it! If you had a bad experience with the one you visited, try another! Not all are like that. Or ask your hospital for recommendations.

Becky012016 · May 2017

My choice was made for me. There are no pediatric practices within an hours drive of where I live so we went with our family practice NP. There's also no MDs in the area for general practice so there's that. I love our NP and she's so on top of everything. When we call the after hours line, I actually get to talk to her, even if it's 3am. She has had no problems referring us out to specialists and/or admitting us to Children's Hospital. I say go with who you are comfortable with. The right medical provider will know when to refer you out and when the problem is within their scope of practice/knowledge.

lilpoots · May 2017

I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

My OB referred me to a family doctor. Since we knew we would be having a preemie and he might be in nicu, I wasn't comfortable with that idea. Found a ped I liked and went with her. Ultimately ended up leaving her, because she didn't really listen. Now we all see the family doctor.

While pediatricians do specialize, we have had better quality of care through the family practice. Full disclosure, she did work in peds previously, so she has experience.

Ultimately, you can always change doctors and/or leave a practice at any point if you aren't satisfied. A lot of parents stay with a doctor they don't really like, because of self doubt, the inconvenience of finding another or because they want to give them a chance. If it doesn't feel right or you're not being listened to, move on.

DPandMB · May 2017

I personally chose a pediatrician. At least for this age. When my older kids hit preteen/teen we switched to the family doctor. Here was our thought process. Pediatricians are more specialized in knowing diseases and milestones for babies/young children. I don't think there is anything wrong with a family doctor at all, and of course they still have the knowledge too but a pediatrician has more experience and specialized knowledge. Again, just our logic.

JustBored10 · May 2017

We are staying with a pediatrician. I am not fond of their office hours or after hours on call service but we have another hospital close by that we use for emergency situations when our regular pedi is not available because they offer night and weekend appointments with ease. I just love the way she interacts with DS and also us as parents. She is so loving and nurturing and takes time to listen to us. So I guess I would suggest a main pediatrician for regular check ups and then maybe a back up family doctor you trust. Always good to have back ups

JNR6510 · May 2017

I don't have a whole lot of options in our area. We have the one pediatrician office with a couple doctor's working there. It's an hour drive (45 miles) just to get to that office. The family doctor I use is located in a different wing of the same building so travel time is equivalent. To find a different pediatrician office, we would have to drive around 1-2 hours farther.

I'm just curious if there is any special benefit that my baby will be missing if we opt to stay with the family practice.

BecauseLove · May 2017

Becky012016 I hear ya. We are at least 2 hours away 1 direction from a pediatrician. So family practice is our only option.

DPandMB · May 2017

JNR6510 said:

I don't have a whole lot of options in our area. We have the one pediatrician office with a couple doctor's working there. It's an hour drive (45 miles) just to get to that office. The family doctor I use is located in a different wing of the same building so travel time is equivalent. To find a different pediatrician office, we would have to drive around 1-2 hours farther.

I'm just curious if there is any special benefit that my baby will be missing if we opt to stay with the family practice.

I wouldn't think you would miss anything special, but you could always call your family practice and find out how many newborns/toddlers they see. They may have a doctor who prefers to see kids and might do a bit better with them, without being a pediatrician.

MyNamesTaken · May 2017

We stuck with our family Dr for DS and probably will for this LO too. Unless there is some special issue that needs monitoring, I find that the family Dr is fine. All depends on your comfort level though.

My family Dr delivered me and followed me until I was about 25 when he retired. It was nice having someone who knew my history so well (and also my family history) when some issues popped up in my teens.

jena333-2 · May 2017

Thank you for posting this! And thanks @Swazzle for bringing it up on another thread. This hadn't really hit my radar yet.

DH and I are both pretty unhappy with our GP (we had an AMAZING NP where we lived in Maine, but we moved for my job). The office staff is useless, and she had a child in November, and now only sees patients 3 days a week - which I am not judging her for that's what works well for her family, but it's not working for us.

I have loved my OB's office (they handled our loss, and all my anxiety this time around), so I will ask a couple of the doctors there for their opinions/suggestions. While I do think I like the idea of seeing specifically a pediatrician, as a family I think we might benefit from seeing one doctor. Hmmm.

lilpoots · May 2017

@JNR6510 it's personal preference, but I wouldn't think you'd be missing out on care if the family doctor is good at what they do. If baby needs a higher level of care, I would go with a ped. I actually prefer our family doctor, because she doesn't freak out or over treat for routine child illness.

Jamiern01 · May 2017

With DD we started out by taking her to our GP that the rest of the family sees. But quickly realized he was not at all supportive of breast feeding and kept pushing formula on us. So because of that we did find a pediatrician who was supportive of our feeding choice. (Guess what kiddo never needed a drop of formula and has meet all developmental miles stones and is in the 80-90% for height and weight.)

so I think it's more important to find someone who is going to be supportive of the things that are important to you than to worry about if it's a GP or pediatrician.

Sprite2012 · May 2017

We chose a pediatrician for DS, and we'll go to the same one for DD. I didn't look into family doctors though, so I can't speak to any pros or cons. But in my head, I think family doctors are great once they aren't so little anymore. Maybe age 9-10 would be a good time to see a family doctor. Not teeny tiny anymore, but not ready to see any kind of specialist? I don't know, just my thought.

awildrose · May 2017

I think this is more of a preference thing. Not all doctors are awesome either and don't need to be selected just based on their title. We didn't have a family practice doctor when I had my first, and was able to get in with a really awesome pediatrician who has been a great resource on the items I'm most concerned about.

Now, DH and I have a great family practice doctor that I wouldn't hesitate to take our kids to if our pediatrician were to leave the area. But for now, my kids see the same pediatrician, and my husband and I see a family practice doctor.

mrs_tacos · May 2017

We had an amazing family doctor I loved, and I would totally have trusted with our kiddo, but she is no longer covered by our insurance.

I have yet to find another GP I like half as much, and our current GP annoys me a lot- she sounds like a preschool teacher about to kiss a boo boo, and it doesn't inspire confidence. Unless I can find a family doctor I love between now and August, I'll likely go with one of the pediatricians my OB recommends. I really trust him, he doesn't give recommendations lightly and really tries to set new babies and parents up with a ped who is a good fit for them.

Carebella · May 2017

I think everyone has covered the pros and cons well. If you are happy with your family doctor, you're likely fine to stick with them as long as your baby is healthy. If something comes up, be prepared to switch to a pediatrician, if you have the option. Regardless of which you pick, definitely find someone who you are comfortable with and that stays current with caring for babies. And no matter which you pick, if you end up unhappy, switch if you can.

DaphneMoon1 · May 2017

I would stick with the doctor you're happy with. Family doctors have to take boards that include general pediatrics. If, heaven forbid, your child has some type of special need, you could switch to a pediatrician.

jessieR358 · May 2017

I haven't read the other posts, but I prefer a pediatrician over a family doctor for children if you Have options where you live. I like that pediatrcians specialize in children and only see children and most will see them all the way up to 21. Kids aren't little adults and I like the distinction with a pediatrician. From what I have seen in my area family doctors see mainly adults and not as many children. I take my child to the same practice I went to as a child. My doctor is no longer there, but its a well established practice. On another note, other things to look at are office hours and availability. Mine always has same day sick appointments availability and weekend hours for sick visits.

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