When to have first ped visit after HB?

[bclare]

We are planning our first HB in March and my midwives keep asking if I have chosen a pediatrician. I have been interviewing them to find those okay with HB / alt vac schedule. One of the things I have been running in to is that since the baby won't be born in hospital they want me to come into the office with 24 hours of birth so they can check on the baby. This seems a bit extreme to me, and I certainly don't think I will be ready to do this, especially since the midwives will be coming by. But hey, I've never done this before and know that I won't know if baby seems "normal" or not and might get a bit freaked out (or maybe not, I just have no idea). There isn't anyone is our area who accepts insurance and does house calls, so that is out.

How long did you wait to go to the pediatrician after your HB? What's your plan? Any suggestions? Thanks everyone.

[Mama~Love]

I really don't remember when or if I did bring her in, but I think around 2 weeks is usually the standard time. Of course, you don't have to bring her in at all if you don't want to. Do you have postpartum visits from your MW? Most are satisfied with the MW checking on baby at the PP visits.

And yeah, within 24 hours of birth is crazy. I'd never do that.

[CEG]

CNMs are certified to provide well newborn care up to six weeks. I don't know the rules but I am sure the CM/CPMs are more than qualified to do the same. Tell the ped that the midwife does a well-baby check at 24 hours or whatever and you will come in later. You can even tell the Ped you will bring in the records from the baby's visits.

Your ped is probably wrapped up in this because when a baby is born in many hospitals (like the ones where I have worked) they are assessed by a ped within 24 hours of birth- before then the nurses assess the baby and call the peds if there is an issue.

I think we went in at 1 week or maybe 2 weeks.

[jenfl]

Around here, our midwife has to recommend seeing the pediatrician in the first 24-48 hours, but the final decision is left up to the parent and doctor. It's usually within the first few days, though.

[Youngfrankenstein]

We saw ours at 1 week PP.

[mamakori]

Our pedi wants to see the new baby about two days after the birth, which won't be happening. One of the big benefits of HB is not having to leave the house after the birth. Midwives are very competent at newborn baby care/evaluation. With our last newborn (born with midwives at a freestanding birth center), we took him in to the pedi around 2 days PP. There was no point at all to the visit. Everything the pediatrician did, the midwife had already done. So, unless the midwife notices something suspicous, we're planning to stay home for the first couple fo weeks this time!

[etsdtm99]

we are planning on 1 week .. but i haven't actually discussed that with the pedi yet..

[berrymama]

We are planning on 2 weeks unless something comes up. My first was tongue-tied, so that is something I would want to be taken care of right away...though there is apparently one ped (also a LC) in our area that would make a house-call for that.

[MyFillingQuiver]

I'd be in no hurry, unless of course, there is a reason or suspicion on the part of the MW. Frankly, I see peds these days (this will be our 6th) as someone to treat problems, not encourage wellness.

I had our last child (VBA2C) at a hospital about 45 minutes from here in another state. While that happens frequently because of our local VBAC ban, the only people who treated me rather crappily (is that a word, LOL?) were the peds at the hospital. They wanted to do the usual testing/immunizations, and then my baby failed the hearing exam. Well, to be honest, when parts of the little portable testing machine were falling off, and the nurse kept saying, "This stuff is just so old I don't trust it", I knew it was equip failure. Well, the ped flipped out and said we had to have him seen at 24 hrs since we were going to another state, I didn't want vitamin K, AND he failed his exam.

So, I took him....24 hrs after discharge, then 1 week, then 2 weeks. It was the biggest waste of money and time. After 2 more failed hearing tests (he had to nurse to be quiet/still enough, which caused ear motion from sucking and the test to fall out) we were seen at an ENT/audiologist where they said he was perfectly fine, and they see more problems with the newborn screens being false positive, than anything else. I still got pressured for no vax'ing, and for coming in for weight checks, etc. Ugh, what a nightmare. The last time he was seen was his 4 month well baby, and he's about 8 months now.

I'm sorry for the book. I just see the screening and health checks of a MW to be much more inclusive. They really spend the time and understand what the baby went through for delivery, what to look for, etc. I don't know why we must run to a ped, absent of any problems.

I'm thinking homebirth this time around, and one of the largest contributing factors is the staying home, and hands on care the MW will provide for my baby! If the baby is breathing well, feeding well, pink, and checks out well on all health checks, than a ped office is a place full of germs and vaccinations, both of which my baby can do without unless he or she is ill or I have a concern. Then we'll likely see our family Dr.

Best wishes to you on your birth!

[goinggreengirl]

My midwife suggests seeing a pedi by 2 weeks PP. We still have not looked into pedis in the area... due at the end of March. I suppose I should get on that.

[CallMeMommy]

Gosh, I don't even remember. It was several months, though. My midwife was checking him out at 24 hours, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 6 weeks, so I didn't see the need to get him checked out again.

[Mama Mko]

We went at 10 days with the first baby and I think 7 days with the second.

[averlee]

I took my daughter to her first appointment at 35 days/5 weeks.

[Juvysen]

Our ped requires we show up within 2 days of the birth. we did that last time, but I'm thinking of ditching the ped and switching to someone else... maybe a family practice? I dunno. He's not really ok with our not vaccinating, but he's good on other things, so I'm not sure what to do.

[bclare]

Thank you all! So helpful. I know my CNM's will provide great care, and it makes me so much less stressed out to know that I really don't have to worry about it right away. Plus, we have a hospital .5 miles away, so in the event there are any concerns from the MW's it would be so easy to bring baby in. I just wasn't sure if there was some essential service a ped provided that I didn't know about.....which is kind of silly since other than my MW's I haven't seen a doctor for about 12 years other than PP for a pap....so of course they won't be the ones to keep our baby healthy-- we will. It's been interesting interviewing them and getting the reaction to a HB. One doctor who has been board certified in peds for 45 years (!!!) and is ancient thought he should explain how to actually do it to me, like I didn't have any assistance or MW or the internet...."now, if you see the feet coming out first, it's a good reason to go to the hospital" LOL.

[sunflowergrrl]

We took baby into the family doctor at 2.5 months. Like others have said, CPMs and CNM's are certified to do newborn exams which mine did at birth, 2 days, and 2 weeks.

Oh, and I wouldn't worry what they think about HB. Vax's yes. HB no. When I took my baby in for her first appt with the family doc (he was a new doc for the whole family) - he asked me if she had a Hep B shot at birth, and I said "no, we had a homebirth," he kind of gave me the "she's a crunchy/crazy lady" look for a second. All I cared about was that he was OK with my selective / delayed vax schedule, which he was.

[magrat]

I plan on going in at 24-48 hours to get the newborn blood screening done. Our midwife can do it, but it will cost $100 and if we just go to the ped our insurance will cover it. Since our ped is only a few blocks away, I'm just going to do it.

[ktmeyer]

My pediatrician actually advertises that he is homebirth/birth center friendly. He also is fine with delaying or selectively vaccinating. He does like to see the baby in the day or two following birth though. It's not far, and as long as they schedule us for a time when there are not sick visits I'm ok with that.

[tellmemore]

My DD is 5 months, born at home. She has never met a Dr. I am VERY okay with that, but I do know that there is a good chance she will need some sort of care sooner or later. She has had congestion a bit lately, and I know too many moms that would run to the Ped. for medicine. Seriously, everything I am doing is what they would tell me to do. I am on state ins. so it's free, but I don't agree with the reasons ($$$) they are required to push things on the parents and the child. My last experience with a Dr. was in the ER where I went to get my intact son swabbed for a culture (turns out I WAS RIGHT!! It was normal separation stuff going on.) Anyway, the look I got, the penile diagram I was drawn (in which lots was left out), and the phonecalls from some snarky nurse that came afterward were so unwelcome that I have decided against going unless there is a reason. I don't want to get the "this lady has been on the dang internet" look and have them try to steamroll me. I have been thinking of finding a Naturopath nearby. Oh, and my MW did PKU and some other stuff I think at a week old. Sorry for the LONG post!

[Jessie Mae]

Our daughter was born on a Sunday night and we brought her into the Ped. on Friday. Your midwives will tell you if you should bring the babe sooner and yes, bring the records of the mw's assessment with you. I think that the 24 hour thing is crazy. (unless there is an issue of course). I can't imagine packing up and going out 24 hours after the birth. We were still in the cocoon phase during that time. Good luck!