When you are pregnant with your baby, you’re monitored by your OB/GYN or midwife on a regular basis to check on your baby’s growth and your health during pregnancy. You anticipate these appointments, and many moms look forward to them especially because they get to listen to their baby’s heartbeat at every appointment.
Frequent doctor visits don’t end after childbirth, though.
You know that as your child’s pediatrician, we are here to take care of your little one when he or she is sick or hurt. But what about in between illnesses and owies? How do you know that your baby is growing at a healthy rate and reaching his or her milestones within the pediatricians’ recommended timeline? How do you know if your little one has an undiagnosed, underlying health condition that requires immediate attention and the assistance of a pediatric specialist? You need to come into regular doctor check-ups to receive ongoing answers to these questions.
First-time parents are often surprised to find out just how many doctor’s appointments their babies need during the first two and a half years of their lives! Called well visit, these appointments are based on a schedule set by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). And they don’t stop just because your child hits age two and a half.
The purpose of these preventative medical appointments is to observe your child and see if he or she is meeting milestones, growing at a healthy pace, and to screen your child for medical conditions that might otherwise go unnoticed, or not become apparent until your child is facing a medical emergency.
The AAP’s current recommended schedule of well visits is:
- 3 to 5 days after birth
- 1 month old
- 2 months old
- 4 months old
- 6 months old
- 9 months old
- 12 months old
- 15 months old
- 18 months old
- 2 years old
- 2.5 years old
- Once a year beginning at age 3, right after his or her birthday
If you’ve missed a well visit or need to schedule one for an upcoming recommended visit, you can call our pediatric practice to book an appointment at (302) 614-6429 or click here to request an appointment online.
Your Child’s Well Visit
These doctor appointments, which are also called physicals, are important to monitor your child’s growth and to provide preventative medical care that may identify any medical condition your child might have or develop in the future. In addition to screening your child during these appointments, we will also administer vaccinations based on the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) vaccination schedule to make sure your child doesn’t come down with a serious, but preventable, illness.
These appointments are also an opportunity for you to ask us any questions you may have about your child’s growth, development, or overall health. Remember, all kids are different, so even seasoned moms and dads may have questions about their newborn one that they never had about his or her older siblings. By sticking to the recommended schedule of pediatric physicals, we will begin to build a doctor-parent relationship with you that will last for nearly two decades.
Doctor check-ups are thorough appointments during which time you and your child will have our complete and undivided attention. Our role during these appointments is both to confirm that your child is growing at a healthy rate and carefully evaluate him or her to determine if he or she has a medical condition that requires further attention or medical intervention. Just because medical conditions may be rare doesn’t mean we walk into the exam room assuming your child doesn’t have one. We give each of our patients the proper care and attention he or she deserves and rule out medical conditions rather than assume we won’t find them because we don’t diagnose them frequently.
What Does a Physical Consist Of?
Many new or expectant parents wonder what their child’s physical will consist of. That’s why we are writing this blog! Well visits are a comprehensive health screening of your child’s development. Especially during the first two and a half years of your child’s life, we monitor a variety of health factors including:
- Your child’s weight at the time of his or her appointment, and the rate at which he or she is gaining weight compared to his or her last check-up. This is then compared to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) growth chart.
- Your child’s height, and how your child’s height compares to the WHO growth chart for your child’s age group.
- Your child’s Body Mass Index (BMI), and its comparison to the WHO chart.
- Your child’s heart rate and the sound of his or her heart to determine if he or she has developed a heart murmur or shows any symptoms of congenital heart disease (CHD).
- The sound of your child’s lungs and breathing rhythm. Asthma is a common medical condition that children develop in their early years of life.
- Answers to developmental questionnaires you’re asked to fill out at specific appointments. These caregiver screenings help us identify whether or not your child may have a developmental delay.
There are many common childhood health conditions that we monitor during well visits too. For example, during these appointments, we will review your child’s file to determine how many, if any, ear infections he or she has had in the past year. Or we may see how he or she is performing at school; or even follow-up on his/her asthma. Essentially, we will be looking at the whole child during these visits to assure they are doing well and discuss issues of concern.
Regular doctor appointments are also when young children receive their immunizations. It’s very important that you bring your child in for every scheduled appointment because the doctor check-ups schedule is directly linked to the CDC’s recommended vaccination schedule. Vaccines protect your child against serious, but preventable diseases.
Keep Your Child’s Doctor Check-Ups as Scheduled
We certainly understand that, especially for parents of young children, it can be hard to find the time to come into our office for a well visit every few months. This is especially true if both parents work outside the home and need to fit in doctor checks into their busy work schedules. However, these preventive medical appointments are important to keep your child’s overall health.
By observing your child as he or she grows, especially during those first two and a half years of life, we will be able to screen him or her for serious medical conditions that may require the assistance of a pediatric specialist or medical interventions. It’s also through regular doctor check-ups that we discuss your child’s development and behavior at home, which helps us determine if he or she needs a referral for a service such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, or physical therapy.
As you can see, so much happens during doctor check-ups that you really just can’t afford to miss them. They are an important part of your child’s overall healthcare and ensure that your family is growing as expected and as healthy as can be.
