Finding a Pediatrician!

[elizabethkott]

Hello all...

I've begun the big search for a pediatrician! I went online and checked for providers in my area that accept my HI, are board certified, accepting new patients, have flexible (night and weekend) hours and are close to home (within 10 miles of our home and hospital).
I have it narrowed down to about 3 different practices; one is run by two women doctors, board certified, and literally around the corner from our home (!). They are not affiliated with the hospital where I will be giving birth, but are affiliated with a hospital that I have much experience with that is actually closer to home.
The other two are single practices, male doctors, board certified. Both are affiliated with the hospital where I will give birth, and with the other hospital in the area. Their practices are about 5 miles away from home.
Really, how important is all this stuff? I would love the ease of putting baby in sling, and walking around the block!
I want to get down to interviewing all the doctors, and see which practice I like best; what are some questions you all asked when working on your search? What should I look out for? And what sort of timeline should I be on? I'm due January 3rd...
Sorry this is so long!!!
Any help is greatly appreciated!

[nfowife]

Personally, the least important thing for me is if they can attend at the hospital I'm delivering at. You will only be there for a short time (in most cases) and the staff or call pediatrician can handle the newborn stuff- if there are any issues with the baby, they can certainly consult with your regular pediatrician on care anyhow. But after that you will be seeing the ped. frequently for years- so that relationship is more important IMO. I would say convenience, accessibility (wait time in the office, how quickly can you get sick appts., do they have a saturday clinic), how much they support the things that are important to you (breastfeeding, vax issues, family health issues), and how well you "jive" with them.
Ask a like-minded mom for a rec as well, if you see someone in your neighborhood with kids.

[sidmand]

I honestly think you can ask all the questions that are important to you (or you think are important to you), but you can't really know until you've been there.

A recommendation of someone who parents the same way you would like to is huge, but there are always differences, and some we may not even be aware of.

I would just go with whomever seems to fill the most criteria. The things the PP listed were great. If breastfeeding is important to you, make sure they are breastfeeding friendly, if delayed vax are important, etc. But you can always change. We went with a doctor we got a recommendation for. I even know a lot of people who go to that practice now. I like the doctor himself and he answered all my questions the way I was looking for at the time, but once DS was here, different things became important—IFKWIM. Things I couldn't have anticipated. Plus, the office staff drove me nuts, but that's another story!

So, I'd say go with your gut, but know it's not the end of the world to change doctors if you find you need a change. And our pediatrician wasn't and isn't affiliated with the hospital I gave birth at. I don't think he saw him until maybe a week after he came home. Not a big deal.

Debbie
http://b2.lilypie.com/BI7Tm5.png

[maestramommy]

For me it was actually key that the ped. was affiliated with the hospital I was delivering at, because of my insurance. Without the affiliation he couldn't be my ped at all. So I think it partly depends on your insurance.

I did interview him before choosing, and he was a great ped for the most part, but we have just switched because I now see that his bf info is way outdated, and he's too wedded to the growth charts (that are also way outdated). I think one thing you might want to do is ask around friends that have similar philosophies as you regarding nutrition, sleep, vaxes, etc. Ask if they would rec. their ped. That's how I found our second ped, which I also interviewed.

[brittone2]

As one or two of the PPs mentioned, the least important factor to me is whether my ped/doctor has privledges at the hospital. When DS was born we were living in a different state. I picked my ped knowing they didn't have privledges at the hospital where DS was delivered. It wasn't an issue whatsoever. Really, you have quite limited face to face time w/ the peds in the hospital anway, unless some crisis arises.

DS's first peds were great on paper and got great recommendations, but they weren't the right fit for us. It takes time to figure all of that out though. I don't think the process is really ever "final" kwim? Your needs and your child's needs may change, and so may your preference for a doc. We ended up switching after a few months to a different practice, and were happier there. Oh, and FWIW I drove about 35 mins to both of those different pediatricians even though there were many closer to me (which would have been nice, but IMO I'd rather drive further for someone that fits with my family's needs).

This time around with baby number 2, I'm in a different state and planning a birth center birth, so things are different. I actually am using a family practitioner this time around, and I've heard wonderful things about him. Family practice docs can be great too, so you may want to keep an open mind. For me, the major factor is I know that this guy is VERY supportive of BFing (not just lipservice), respects parent choice on vax schedules, and is supportive of cosleeping/family bed, etc. all of which is important to me. DS has a different doc currently, but I'll probably switch him over to this practice once i'm sure I'm happy there. Again, I'll be driving about 35 mins to this doc, although there are many closer options.

Regarding interviewing peds, I've never really BTDT as the peds where I lived previously really just wouldn't do this (unfortunately). My biggest tip though is to ask open ended questions. Instead of "do you support BFing?" (if that's important to you), ask them what they'd recommend if baby was only slowly gaining the first month (I'd want to hear that they regularly refer to a lactation consultant vs. recommending supplementation). What do they recommend for a newborn with jaundice? (I wouldn't want to hear "supplement" there either). Lots of docs will tell you they support BFing, etc. but when push comes to shove, that isn't really how they operate, kwim? Ditto for topics like circ...ask them open ended questions whenever possible. It at least gives you a *better* shot at seeing what they really do in practice IMO. The more open ended, the better chance you have at getting to the real meat of how they handle variouss situations.

[elizabethkott]

Thanks so much for all the help! I hadn't realized that it wasn't such a big deal to work with a ped that isn't affiliated with the hospital I'll deliver in.
And since I do plan on bf-ing, that will certainly fall into questions I ask during interviews.
Thanks again!

[klwa]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned that may become an issue LATER (and was brought up in our prenatal class), you may need to have a doctor the same gender as your DC for certain issues that DC feels better talking to a man/woman about. Like I said, more for slightly older children, but still....
As for not being affiliated with your hospital, my nephew's dr isn't affiliated with the hospital my SIL went to. She didn't have any issues, just told them who her ped office was and they assigned a different office to come visit her in the hospital. Once they got out, all records were sent to the ped she requested.

[elizabethkott]

>One thing I haven't seen mentioned that may become an issue
>LATER (and was brought up in our prenatal class), you may need
>to have a doctor the same gender as your DC for certain issues
>that DC feels better talking to a man/woman about.

That is totally something I would not have thought about! I'm so just trying to get this baby born, forget about puberty issues and the like!!! LOL!
It's a great point, though!
:)

[kayte]

The practices around here hold a meet the doctor and see our practice once a month... I was also due in January and luckily someone mentioned that they usually don't hold them in December. Sure enough when I called in late October, none were holding them in December. I was able to go to the November nights.

HTH

[JBaxter]

The same gender is a big issue with us right now ( boys 15& 12) they refuse to see any of the female NP's at the practice and I have to argue w/ the secretary on occassion if their regular ped is busy. Both boys simple reuse to get undressed or be touched by a unrelated female .... Welcome to puberty :(

[elizabethkott]

Oh dear. While I'm not there yet, I can sort of empathize with the raging hormones and such... I teach high school. :o
If it's any consolation, it's been my experience in parent/teacher conferences that the parent is often afraid that their child is a hormonal nightmare at school just like they are at home - and they so are not!!! I had one student where the mother actually cried she was so happy to hear that her daughter wasn't a raving psycho, but rather an active, happy, contributing participant in my class!!! LOL.