When Do You Choose a Pediatrician?

I went to interview a bunch of peds before I gave birth, so that I didn't have to do it after the birth. You're so tired & so jumbled that it was one thing I didn't want to do after the birth.

Go do interviews...most peds don't charge you for it. See which one you're comfortable with. I would do it now to just get it out of the way.

You don't have to decide until way later. My kids ped. didn't work out of the hospital that I delivered them at, so they saw the on call ped. when they were first born. I think this one reason why they want to know the ped when you are pregnant. You need to have one decided by the time the baby is born.
Congrats on your pregnancy.

We were clueless with our first child so we asked our OB who he used for his children. That ped has worked out fine until now. I am looking at changing to a female as I have two girls. Most peds do a info meeting periodically so you can get an idea of their personality, etc...

You need to choose your pediatrician before you have the baby because once the baby is born, all your doctors and the paper work will ask who your pediatrician is so they can send records to them and notify them.

I'm not sure if you live by McKinney but Dr. Catherine Frank is totally awesome. We just moved here and I thought I would have the worst time finding a doctor for my kids. A few other mom's use her too and are very happy with her.
http://www.phamckinney.com/physicians/frank_catherine.html

Good luck! This is a very exciting time!

I choose my childs Dr. when I was at the end of my 2nd trimester. I went to Pediatric Healthcare Associates for a "meet and great" (it is in the evenings and you go and they tell you about there practice and how they would take care of you little one. All you have to do is call them and they will tell you when they are having the next one.) Most places have things like this. It is like interviewing the Dr before your child is born. We choose Dr. Kessinger, he is really good and I have been very happy with him. My child is now 6 months and we have been in lots. Hope this helps.

Not until later in your pregnancy. I am 36 weeks and I just selected one. You still have time to shop! I think the books say to choose one around 30 wks.

Congratulations to you and your husband. I can't begin to explain how wonderful it is to be a mom. Regarding your OB Doc, Joanna was right when she said make sure you are comfortable with him/her. I had been seeing my ob/gyn for about 10 years when I became pregnant, I like him before hand but not as my OB doctor. I felt he wasn't giving me enough information for this being my 1st child. After each appointment I left feeling like he act like I have been down this road before. Don't get me wrong, he was nice and all and always asked if I had any questions, but I didn't know what questions to ask and I found out more information online and through co-workers than I did from him. I ended up with another doctor from within his group, which was a female doctor and I was very happy with her.

Yes, you want to use the time during your pregnancy to check out pediatricians and choose the one you want. they will visit the baby at the hospital every day you are there.

A. J

Congrats on the Baby (to be)!!
You're wise to ask this question, as it will become more "pressing" as your pregnancy progresses. If you have any friends who live near you that have children, I would ask them who they use. You can also go to your insurance company and look thru their list of peds in your immediate area. Print off the list and mark your personal preferences on locations, sex of the dr (will become very important later on, for your child), and their working hours (make sure to find out if they have Saturday hours, or what their office policy is). You can take your list to your OB and ask who his/her preference is. We asked ours, and we've been VERY happy with our pediatrician's office!!

We started asking during our 2nd trimester, and made an appt to interview the Pediatricians before our baby was due, as I was already at risk for a pre-term baby (he was a month early). Having our pediatrician chosen made it so easy for us to just focus on being able to visit the NICU to see him, instead of spending that time choosing and looking for his pediatrician.

If you haven't gotten it already, I highly recommend reading "What to Expect When You're Expecting". It is updated on a regular basis, and is available at Babies R Us, as well as the typical bookstores.

Warm Wishes for you and your Hubby!!
~J.~

It's too early now. I'd wait until 2nd/3rd trimester. You don't have to have one when you deliver. The baby is supposed to have a checkup 2-weeks after birth, and this is the first time you will really need to see a pediatrician.

The advantage of choosing one before the baby is born is:
1) If the on-call doctor at the hospital is not on your insurance plan, you can have them call your pediatrician and avoid out-of-network doctor fees.
2) If the pediatrician has any recommendations that are different than what the hospital does, he/she can be there to make sure that is done (for example, some of the immunizations aren't needed at the hospital because they are covered at one of the later checkups).
3) You will probably have more time to schedule appointments to visit the pediatrician now than after the baby is born. A lot of doctors have an open house one night each month where you can meet many or all of the doctors and ask questions.

Congratulations! You don't need to pick a pedi until the very end. In fact, I have several friends who didn't even pick one. They just went with the pedi that was on call in the hospital when their kids were born. Luckily for them, they liked the on call doc :) For right now, I would concentrate on making sure you are happy with your OB Doc! You need to really trust that person. I actually switched mine because I just didn't feel the right vibe at first.

You've got some time to do this. We picked ours around 29 weeks...only because we were having twins and wanted to have that done in case they came early. I think most people interview around that time and choose anywhere from 30-36 weeks. The pediatrician you choose may or may not see your baby in the hospital...it all depends on what hospital you will be giving birth at and what hospitals your ped. is affiliated with. Our ped. didn't see the boys in the hospital, but a day after they were discharged from the hospital. Ask family, friends, even your ob/gyn for referrals on a ped. You definitely want one you feel comfortable with caring for your little one. Congrats and good luck!

You don't have to worry about looking for a pedi until you're towards the end of your pregnancy. It's never too early to start asking friends/family for recommendations, but don't schedule any doctor consults just yet. Congrats!