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Home › Articles › Basic Care › Picking Your Pediatrician

Picking Your Pediatrician

Finding the Doctor That's Right for Your Baby

By Dr. Tonya Henderson-Meyer

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One of the many preparations you must make for your new baby is finding a pediatrician to care for him. If this is your second baby, the choice may be obvious for you – you may already have a relationship with a pediatrician you trust. If, however, you are new to parenthood, you might wonder how to go about finding the right pediatrician for you. Here are some tips to help you get started.

Information Gathering
First, when should you start the process? Ideally, you will make your decision a couple of months before your due date. Some babies pay no attention to a timely arrival, and you don't want to be caught off guard. Give yourself enough time to gather all the data necessary to make a wise choice.

Start by asking your friends who have children about their pediatricians or family practitioners. What do they like? What don't they like? Why? As consumers themselves, they are one of your best sources of information. You also may want to ask your obstetrician or nurse-midwife about the pediatricians or family practitioners they work with. Another source of information is a hospital referral service. It can give you information about pediatricians on staff.

Make sure that the pediatricians you are considering are contracted with your insurance plan before you make an appointment for a prenatal consultation. Unfortunately, this must be an important part of your choice.

Location, Location, Location
As you are gathering your list of potential pediatricians, keep in mind where their offices are located. Location may not be everything, but remember that in the best case scenario of perfect health, you will be visiting the pediatrician every couple of weeks in the baby's first month, and then every couple of months throughout the baby's first year! Suffice it to say that a convenient office location will make your life a little easier.


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Re: Picking Your Pediatrician by brit on 11/26/2008 01:16AM

I was reading your article on the Huggies Web site (www.huggiesbabynetwork.com) about well-baby checkups, which I really enjoyed and learned much from, and then saw the mention of this article at the bottom. Finding a pediatrician has been very hard for me. As a new mom, I took a lot of friend's advice, but ultimately decided on one that was actually my second choice, but right up the street. As it says here, location is important. Who wants to drive all the way across town with a new baby?

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