Questions to ask my pediatrician?

[MrsKatie]

Hi ladies,

DH and I are meeting with potential pediatricians in the next couple of weeks, and I feel utterly lost re: what to ask! I know I want to ask about his/her views on vaccinating, b/c we want to delay vax at least... but what else?  I don't know why I feel so clueless about this one.

[jbk21]

I'd ask about antibiotic use and whether they first recommend other more natural therapies.  (I'd be careful about rampant abx prescriptions).  I'd ask for their opinion on things like cry-it-out (my old ped. recommended at 4 months that we lock DS in his room at his bedtime and not go back in for 12 hours.    Seriously.  She was great about vaxing and stuff though, so we just ignored that part.)  

Try to get a feel for the office in general- is there a well-child area/ separate entrance for sick children?  How long are the visits?  I'd ask about breastfeeding, too.  Maybe they have an LC that they work with.  What hospital(s) do they have privileges at?  etc.

Originally Posted by MrsKatie 

Hi ladies,

DH and I are meeting with potential pediatricians in the next couple of weeks, and I feel utterly lost re: what to ask! I know I want to ask about his/her views on vaccinating, b/c we want to delay vax at least... but what else?  I don't know why I feel so clueless about this one.

[jbk21]

PS I just remembered you are in PDX too, so if you want the number of my pediatrician I'd be happy to share it!  We love him!  He's a nurse practitioner but the practice has an MD and a few other specialist (PsyD, naturopath, etc.)  He always recommends natural treatments first, which we love, and won't push vaxing.  

[MrsKatie]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

PS I just remembered you are in PDX too, so if you want the number of my pediatrician I'd be happy to share it!  We love him!  He's a nurse practitioner but the practice has an MD and a few other specialist (PsyD, naturopath, etc.)  He always recommends natural treatments first, which we love, and won't push vaxing.  

We aren't in Portland YET, but will be moving there early next year (counting down the days!) -- so I'll probably needs LOTS of help/guidance when that day comes!  Including a new pediatrician.  Thank you!

[ameliaanne]

hi there! DDCC, but i am in due in january, live in pdx, and would love a pedi recommendation :)

[jbk21]

Originally Posted by ameliaanne 

hi there! DDCC, but i am in due in january, live in pdx, and would love a pedi recommendation :)

http://integrativeprimarycare.com/  

Max Tenscher is our family doc/ pediatrician.  He's so great, and Kristen is great too (I've seen her for a physical).  Max loves kiddos, and the appointments are always an hour long!  He was recommended to us by a friend with two kids as well.  He has kind of a funny hairstyle that I can't get over.... but other than that he's amazing.

[IwannaBanRN]

I need to interview the pediatrician I'm going to be using for my son. He was my DD's pedi from 2 weeks on, and I had no conflict with him, but there are things concerning Vax and not circumcising my son I need to ask him about, such as pulling back the foreskin, which I will NOT allow. If any pedi causes a stink about that, I would move on to the next pedi.

[Abraisme]

I also live in the PDX area and love my pediatrician!  She has never hassled me about breastfeeding, co-sleeping, not-vaccination, starting solids or sttn.  She always acts like these things are perfectly normal and healthy.  She's really never given me bad advice that goes against my parenting beliefs.  She also doesn't prescribe anti-biotics until they're really necessary.  I feel really lucky that I stumbled into that pediatrician's office, because it's the first place that I tried and it's super close to me.

Pediatrics Associates of the NW

Lake Oswego office

Dr. Dahl

[1love4ever]

I would just make sure that they are OK with you not vaccinating, and if your having a boy, that they dont retract the forskin.  Actually I would not see a ped that Recommended circumcision period because I just will not support someone who would recommend such a practice.  I also would go with someone who supports long term breastfeeding and who really cares about good nutrition/recommends against processed foods, etc.   Even if you already know these things, for me it is more about not supporting the ones who are against things that are important to me.   Honestly in my very small town there is not much choice, so I currently only see a NP for DD if I have a concern, otherwise I dont waste my time and money on well child visits because I do not vax and that is the main reason why they schedual so many well child visits the way that they do.  WIC does DDs weight, height, and checks the percentile and her iron levels when necessary so that is pretty much a well child visit for me:)

[mommy55]

Ask about the office wait times.  Also, you'll probably get a good feel for the docs you interview - that's how we picked ours.  She was highly recommended by another pediatrician, and we've since referred several friends to her.  She never rushes us and just always makes us feel like we can take as much of her time as we want during visits.  One of the things that really struck us during our interview with her (we only interviewed one other ped and he was great too) was that she made sure to include both of us in the conversation.  My DP is pretty quiet so I was asking the questions, but the ped made sure to direct a couple of questions towards DP, which made a difference to us.

[Jaimee]

Vaxing policy- allow no vaxing, selective/delayed vaxing?  Any waivers that must be signed?

How they treat intact foreskin

How they treat allergy issues

When they prescribe antibiotics

How they feel about more natural remedies

Breastfeeding knowledge- supportive of night nursing, extended nursing, understanding that bf infants gain weight differently than ff infants. Do they have an LC on staff?

Office wait time, sick child policy

When they want to see a newborn, fine with postponing genetic screening?

Fine with skipping some well baby visits?

Do they have a phlebotomists on staff (not a requirement certainly, but a nice perk)

Often your main goal in picking a ped is finding one that will keep you in the practice even if you don't vax.  Pretty much everything else you can control, ignore, or decline.  Peds are not there for parenting advice.  While it's NICE to have a ped that you can talk to and get support from for all sorts of issues, their job is medical.  So if your choices are limited, find one that falls in line with your views on western medicine as best as possible and leave it at that.  Also, don't forget that family practitioners often make great peds as well.

[Abraisme]

Luckily we live in a really progressive area.  It's totally possible to find a pediatrician here that can fit all/most of one's ap values.  I know that other people in other states aren't so lucky.  :(
 

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

Vaxing policy- allow no vaxing, selective/delayed vaxing?  Any waivers that must be signed?

How they treat intact foreskin

How they treat allergy issues

When they prescribe antibiotics

How they feel about more natural remedies

Breastfeeding knowledge- supportive of night nursing, extended nursing, understanding that bf infants gain weight differently than ff infants. Do they have an LC on staff?

Office wait time, sick child policy

When they want to see a newborn, fine with postponing genetic screening?

Fine with skipping some well baby visits?

Do they have a phlebotomists on staff (not a requirement certainly, but a nice perk)

Often your main goal in picking a ped is finding one that will keep you in the practice even if you don't vax.  Pretty much everything else you can control, ignore, or decline.  Peds are not there for parenting advice.  While it's NICE to have a ped that you can talk to and get support from for all sorts of issues, their job is medical.  So if your choices are limited, find one that falls in line with your views on western medicine as best as possible and leave it at that.  Also, don't forget that family practitioners often make great peds as well.