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Choosing A Pediatrician
If you are expecting a baby or have just had a baby, you may be concerned about healthcare for your baby. You want to choose a pediatrician, but you do not know how. Having some form of healthcare for your baby is crucial to your baby growing up healthy and strong, so it is important that you always have some sort of continuing healthcare for your baby. Even when he or she is not sick, he or she still needs to see a pediatrician on a regular basis.
Qualifications For Your Pediatrician
Choosing a pediatrician can seem like a daunting task. During your pregnancy, your midwife or OB/GYN provided you maternal and infant health care, but now you have to find someone to care solely for the baby. The healthcare provider you choose for your baby is going to be your go to person for many years to come. You have to trust his or her to do the right thing for your child, and as such, having a connection with your pediatrician is a must. If you do not feel comfortable with him or her, avoid choosing that pediatrician if at all possible.
In addition, you should make sure that you pediatrician's views are closely aligned with your own. If you choose not to vaccinate your child, you need to make sure that your pediatrician will be okay with that. Some pediatrician's unnecessarily push for vaccinations and other standard medical healthcare for a baby. If you choose to do things nonstandard, look for a pediatrician who has a history of working with nonstandard care patients.
Another view that is important when choosing a healthcare provider for your baby is how you plan to feed your baby. Unfortunately, doctors and pediatricians do not have to take classes on breastfeeding at medical school. As such, many pediatricians are misinformed on breastfeeding. Some pediatricians judge how well your baby is growing from standard growth charts. However, these growth charts were formed using primarily formula fed babies. Formula fed babies tend to grow quicker in the beginning and taper off while breastfed babies tend to grow slowly at first and then quickly. Many pediatricians have told the mother to stop breastfeeding due to failure to thrive when the baby is actually doing just fine. In addition, while the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding until the baby is two years old, many pediatricians believe that breast milk loses its benefits after three, six, or nine months of age. If you plan on breastfeeding, make sure to discuss all of this with your pediatrician in reference to the healthcare for your baby.
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