Partnering with your baby's doctor: Calls & visits

Once home with your new baby, many questions may arise about the health and care of your new baby. Good sources for answers are:

the informational pamphlet from your child's doctor (often given out in the hospital)
your child's provider's Web site
parenting guides on the Internet or in print
the nurse telephone help-line at your child's clinic or at the hospital where you delivered

If you still need an answer and do not feel your question can wait, call your child's doctor or nurse practitioner.

Preparing to call

When you call your baby's health care provider with a question or with a concern about your child, you will get more information more quickly if you prepare before placing the call.

Try to speak with your child's regular doctor or nurse practitioner, as she will have the best knowledge about your child's health status.

See Signs to call your baby's health care provider for questions to be ready to answer and what to know when you call the clinic.

When to call

Call your child's doctor or nurse practitioner any time you think you need medical help. But you don't want to call unnecessarily or fail to call when you should.

Clinics often publish guidelines for calling. You might ask your baby's clinic for a copy.

Health care providers often advise parents to call if their baby develops any of these signs:

fever of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38.0 degree Celcius) or higher (rectal temperature)
bluish discoloration to the lips
jaundice
failure to eat
irregular or labored breathing
unusually protruding abdomen
unusual irritability or sleepiness
seizures
excessive spitting up
vomiting
diarrhea

Parents' intuition rarely leads them astray. If you think a serious problem exists, call the doctor.

Well child visits

During the first year, infants require more vaccinations and have more illnesses than at any other time. That's why the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends more visits in the first year of life than at any other time.

These recommended six visits coincide with vaccinations and the usual needs of parents for advice. :

2 weeks (sooner if hospital stay was less than 48 hours - Your child's first visit may be a "weight and color" check just one to two days after leaving the hospital. The doctor at the hospital will tell you if this is needed.)
2 months
4 months
6 months
9 months
12 months

At each well child visit, your child's doctor or nurse practitioner will ask how your baby has been doing, weigh your baby, measure the length and head circumference, perform an examination, assess development, administer needed vaccinations and provide helpful guidance to you as a parent. Most clinics also offer information on preventing injuries and accidents as part of these routine visits.

What records should you keep?

After each well child visit, as your doctor to print out an up-to-date copy of your child's immunizations.

You will need a record of your child's immunizations and birth certificate when he or she enters school. You also should keep a file of additional information such as records of accidents, hospitalizations and allergies. If you change clinics, these records will be especially helpful to the new health care provider.