Finding a pediatrician is a pretty important decision, since your child’s health will be in this person’s hands. It can be a long and stressful process, so many parent’s and caregivers avoid doing it, which is generally fine. However, there are a few situations in which you should definitely look into finding a new pediatric physician.
Before you have a child.
The first time any parent needs to find a pediatrician is before their first child is born. Parents who already have children can often use the same pediatrician for all of the children they have, but new parent should start looking for one before the baby is even born. It’s ideal to start the search some weeks or a month before the baby is due to make sure you have enough time to find the right doctor.
If you don’t agree with your current pediatrician.
If you already have a pediatrician, you should start looking for a new one if you don’t agree on certain things. It’s important to remember that doctors are professionals and experts, so you should most often trust their judgement, but if your opinions differ on important things like vaccinations, breastfeeding, and circumcision, you should find a doctor whose beliefs align with yours or who won’t intervene when it comes to care (though it should be noted that a child dies every 20 seconds as a result of a disease that could be prevented by a vaccine, according to Unicef).
If your child needs an expert.
Another reason you may need to get a new pediatrician is if your child needs special pediatric care. Some pediatric offices have physicians who are well-versed in certain diseases or illnesses. For example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than seven million children in the U.S. with asthma. If yours is one, you’ll want a doctor who has considerable experience treating and managing it.
Have you had to find a pediatrician for any of these reasons? Feel free to share your experience with us in the comments section below.
