Pediatric care

Quality pediatric care is essential for children’s health. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children see a pediatric physician regularly and at least once a year. The search for the right pediatrician can be daunting, but here are three helpful tips for finding the right one.

Start looking early.
Finding the right pediatric office and physician for your child is going to seem to be stressful. After all, you’re entrusting the care and physical health to this person. One way to help quash the anxiety is to start looking early, before your baby is even born. In the later months of pregnancy you may want to start thinking about the type of care that you want or that your child may need.

Do your research.
After evaluating what you think is important about the care of your child and what your values are (pertaining to breast feeding or vaccinations for example), you should start looking for pediatric offices in your area. Find their websites and click around to find out more about their philosophy of care and read any pediatrician reviews that might be there. Once you have a list of pediatricians, then you’re ready for the next step.

Meet the doctor.
Once you’ve found a few pediatricians who seem to be a good fit for you, your child, and your family, visit the office and meet with the doctor. Look around at the waiting room and watch how the staff interacts with each other, the children, and the families. Once you’ve actually met the doctor, find out if you agree on the type of care your child will receive at that clinic. If you don’t get along with the doctor or he or she doesn’t respect your preferences for care, then you should consider choosing a different doctor.

Do you have any more tips for finding a pediatrician? Let us know in the comments. Find out more about this topic here.