We are meeting with a potential pediatrician tonight. She has came highly recommended from several people so if all goes well with our meeting we will go with her. Anyone have question suggestions? Or ones they wish they would have asked?
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I am breastfeeding and I wish I had asked the pediatrician if he had experience supporting a nursing mom/baby. I think I lucked out and my LO's doctor is pretty knowledgable about breastfed babies and really supportive of breastfeeding, but I have heard some stories from other moms about their pediatricians giving lots of misinformation or encouraging them to switch to formula at the first sign of trouble (weight loss, etc.) rather than referring them to a lactation consultant. Obviously this is only relevant if you are planning to breastfeed!
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if there is a practice or not, what you do if it is a weekend--are there on-call nurses or where do they recommend you take the baby? vaccination schedules if you are interested. some people have told me that my pedi recommends the baby doesn't go anywhere for 8 weeks, so I am going to ask about that since I'm only planning on taking 6 weeks off from work.
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I second the breastfeeding support questions- since it is usually where people have the greatest difficulty early on, I would ask how they support it.
This is the biggest reason we chose ours- they have two lactation consultants on staff, so we could get in touch with someone any time of the day or night if needed. Also our pediatrician has a fantastic sense of humor, we felt like we hit it off right away.
Also how does their vaccine protocol mesh with your preferences, if you don't agree it will be a point of contention later on. And last, does your pediatrician have hospital privileges at the hospital you will deliver at, so they can see your baby in the hospital.
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yep, @lydg, that was my first two questions. It's important to know if someone is on call after hours because babies will almost always come up with these things after office hours. I also went back to work at 7 weeks and was told I shouldn't bring the baby anywhere for 8 weeks as well. (He was born in December, with a collapsed lung and there were many RSV cases this year in the area - even one of my coworker's LO got it).
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I asked mostly about breastfeeding, about hospital issues (where I live the pedi determines if you can room in, how long you can hold the baby right after delivery, etc.) and also about her general approach... I wanted to see if this was a doctor who would order antibiotics and tests and whatever at the first sign of trouble. Also how available she'd be to answer questions. She has BlackBerry Messenger so that has been SUPER.
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Hours topped my list, especially weekend & evening hours.
If they have a certified LC on staff.
Do they set aside appointments each day for sick visits.
Well vs sick waiting/entry areas
Average wait times
Hospital affiliations
Immunization policies - this was a big one for me because I feel it's very telling of what kind of practice they are.Cleanliness & friendliness of the practice was huge for us too!
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I asked about vaccinations, breastfeeding, office hours, weekend availability, how long it takes to get an appointment in case of emergency.
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No recommendations... but I'd like to see what others add :o) I need to get on this!!!
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Thanks! I have added a few of these suggestions to our list! Luckily I do know our office has a LC on staff alraedy, so I just need to ask about hours for her. I also am already aware of weekend/night hours since that was one of the reasons we called this office, but other quesitons will be very handy! thank you ladies!
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9 comments