Why do you have a pediatrician?

[babytoes]

I know that I am new here, but I have been lurking for about 2 months, with three boys, I just dont seem to have time to post as often as I would like to. Any way, I DO NOT want to rustle any feathers, although I cannot imagine that I will, but I had to throw it out there just in case.

My question to all the ones that have regular ped, why? Why would you even have a ped? I have 3 boys, ages 13, 5 and 20 months, and I have used the same family pactitioner for 12 years. I guess what I dont understand is that ped's are for babies with problems, (If you think about it...), a regular FP can do checkups, and any other stuff that peds can do, only they dont specialize in babies, but in all ages (which comes in handy for as kids get older). And I 'think' that most would be more willing to go along with your choices. I just dont know why there seems to be a 'need' to have a ped when people have babies, why not use 'your' dr?? Not only that, but I never even went to well baby checkups, I would just make an appointment when I was getting curious about his weight and height. I havent been to the office since March accually!!

So anyway, I am just curious, please dont be offended!!!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS ALREADY!!!!

Jessica~with 3 CRAZY boys!!! :

[CarrieMF]

I don't have a ped because there are none here. There is a travelling one who comes to town once a month to see children who have issues. My youngest was sent to him at 12months for FTT. After her 2nd appointment with him I told my GP we would never see the ped again. I don't understand the whole ped thing either, ime the more specialized a dr is the less of a bedside manner and the more they think they know but don't. We did well baby checks and do annual visits to have a record and because my middle dd has a heart defect. The GP's here don't do vaxes though, that is done by a separate gov't group.

[LongIsland]

I often ask myself the same question.

We've been to a handful of well visits for my 1.5 year old. I mainly went for curiosity regarding weight, but now he can stand on the bathroom scale , so there's no point going anymore. We've never gone in for a sick visit.

My eight year old just went after not going for two years. We went to satisfy school physical requirements. I think next time, I'll submit an exemption for that. The ped actually wanted to check my 8 year old's cholesterol :LOL I don't think so.

With my older son, I dutifully vaccinated and went to all the well visits and took him in for every cut and sniffle. It took many many years to realize that pediatricians are pretty much useless if you don't vaccinate.

[mamakay]

Oops. I was just going to post that I use our GP kinda like a ped. A ped that only does "unwell baby visits" most of the time.
And that's been once.
I did do the ped and WBVs when ds was tiny and I thought peds did more than just weigh them and listen to their heartbeats and push vaxes.
If ds had some kind of condition that required monitoring of any kind that a ped could help with I'd definitely do the ped thing. But he doesn't.

[alegna]

Well, I don't have a dr. at all right now- not family practice, nor a ped for my dd.... Some family practice drs are hard to get into around here and peds will nearly always take newborns- maybe that's part of it? Also here in the US these days that seems to just be what's done. I know it's not in other places though....

-Angela

[applejuice]

Welc0ome to MDC!

I did not want a pediatrician, but Dr. Paul Fleiss came so highly recommended that I took my DD and DS1,2,3, to him when ever I had a problem.

But no vaxes, never.

When I grew up, I never went to a pediatrician or any kind of doctor. My Father was a Chiropractor.

[Momalea]

My dd is 5 and we've always seen family practitioners (NDs & MDs) because I liked that our whole family was seeing the same practitioner. However, she has encopresis, and we took her to no less than 8 practitioners over 3 years trying to figure out what was going on (but no pediatricians). It wasn't until we took her to a pediatric osteopath that she was diagnosed (and on the first visit at that). So, with baby #2 on the way, I am wondering if a pediatrician would be a good idea just because they are accustomed to seeing children and are more clued in to illnesses that specifically happen with children. Although my MD is laid-back, fine with us not vaxing, very alternative, etc, he didn't pick up on the encopresis and suggested all sorts of other ideas that didn't help at all. I'm not feeling full of confidence with his ability with children these days (or any of the other 7 highly recommended practitioners we saw). BUT I would need to find a pediatrician who is fine with us not-vaxing, etc. Sigh.

[infraread]

Hi Babytoes, welcome to MDC

No offense taken here, we do have a ped. because we don't have a family doctor. Haven't found a family practice yet that I like, so at least this way ~someone~ knows my son's history and we don't have to start from scratch constantly.

[Sherra]

After firing my daughter's previous ped, I would have been completely satisfied with a regular doctor. I just got lucky and found a ped that supports every single value I have which is rare. I don't have a family doctor really.

I'm a bit perplexed myself not that people have peds necessarily, but they think and seem to have a panic attack that they can't find a ped for their kid and that is their only avenue. I am not meaning to come across as berating people who feel this way because I'm also a first time mother and was scared of doing anything wrong with my baby so I understand this. It actually makes me irked at the medical field for waging such a war if you could call it that to brainwash society into thinking there is only one avenue to go in medical care and if you don't follow it, it is neglect.

Sherra

[Artisan]

Another person who takes their kids to their family practitioner. I don't understand some people's fervent desire to have a ped, either. I guess it's sort of like some people insist on having an OB instead of an FP or a MW. They think they are more highly skilled in some way.

[mattemma04]

//

[amnesiac]

I actually prefer pedi docs over family practitioners. The FPs here don't see many kids at all, especially babies, so their offices are not kid friendly & frankly, their pedi skills aren't up to par. I like to use specialists though - heart docs for heart problems, lung docs for lung problems & kid docs for kid problems. Because kids are not just little grown ups. That's what we use ours for - problems. When we need labwork done or a prescription or a referral then we go. And we did always go to baby well-checks.

[ruby slippers]

My FP doesn't see children so I take her to the pediatrician. I agree that children are not little adults so I prefere to use a pedi. I used a midwife during my pregnancy. I like having a relationship with my pediatrician just incase my dd does get sick and I do take her for WBC's with no vaccines.

[wednesday]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

ime the more specialized a dr is the less of a bedside manner and the more they think they know but don't.

I have said the exact same thing. IME a family doctor will communicate with a parent in a much more respectful manner about their child.

I used to have a co-worker, who was a good friend actually, and whose wife was a pediatrician. He let slip a few comments about his wife's feelings about her work and her patients that were very revealing. I don't remember exact wording but basically that it was really offensive to her when her patients questioned her advice or didn't want to follow her recommendations on something, or didn't want to vax. She felt like she was the knowledgeable expert and if they weren't going to follow her advice why did they come to her at all. I could see he was very sympathetic to her POV so I didn't really say anything. But it made me see peds and other doctors in a new light. The peds we have seen have been coming from that POV, whereas I have to say most family docs I have seen, even if they may have felt themselves the expert, didn't have a way of making you feel they thought you were too ignorant to have any kind of opinion or insight into your own health.

[Plummeting]

We have a ped because we're military and we don't have a choice. We see the doctors on base and all children are assigned pediatricians. I do take DD to WBC to cover my butt, but not all the ones they recommend - I can't believe how many WBC they recommend! We went to 2 weeks, 6 and 12 months and will go to 18 and 24 months. They wanted us to come at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 24 months! It seems like the people who invented this schedule were trying to think of a way to expose your baby to as many illnesses as possible, in the hopes that they'll catch something nasty in the ped's office and come back more often.

[Zuri's Papa]

I think Dr Mendelson(sp?) spelled it out in his book. It's best to go to general practioner who sees your whole family and knows your family's medical history. A ped is operating in a silo.

[jenniferB]

i just realized this after reading the thread title: my 1+ yr old has never seen a doctor. Ped or other kind. We just never had a reason. we aren't gonna vax her. she has gotten sick now and then: fever (treated it with breast milk), diarahhea (treated it with breastmilk), runny nose (treated it with breastmilk + vitamin c). but nothing that has lasted longer than 24 hours.

[sweetpeasmom]

I have a ped. With my first child, I just did what I thought I had to do. They said I needed a ped and she needed to be seen within 2 days of discharge because of her jaundice. So I dutifully complied. I did all vaxes, I did everything they told me too. Then I started reading about the vaxes and decided against them. He was supportive of my decision and I don't get harrased about it so I just stayed. Then with my second I decided to skip all wbc and just do sick calls but she ended up being a micro preemie, so I decided to do the wbc w/no vaxes of course, just to make sure she's doing okay developmentally. I myself don't even have a doctor, never needed to see one luckily.

[LoveChild421]

honestly the only reason I do well-baby check-ups is in case someone calls CPS on me for not vaxing. There are a lot of ignorant people where I live who think not vaxing is neglectful, etc (meanwhile they leave their kids to cry it out in the crib...)

I don't have a family doctor so I just chose a ped. but we only go to the wellchecks, I've learned to treat him at home after the ped. prescribed antibiotics for what I now know was VIRAL pneumonia....

[janellesmommy]

When I was pregnant I asked around for recommendations for non-vax friendly pediatricians. The best recommendation I got was for a family doctor. At first I was hesitant because he wasn't a pediatrician, but my midwife told me that pediatricians were better when there were serious medical problems and family doctors were better for well-baby visits and mild ailments.

I think that as a rule family doctors are more laid back on the vaccine issue, because unlike pediatricians, they would still be in business if everyone started refusing vaccines. It is simply a much smaller part of their practice.

I went my daughter's family practice doctor for the 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 month well-baby visits, right on schedule. I just felt more comfortable having a paper-trail showing I was a "responsible" mother, in case there was ever an issue about her not having any vaccines. Other than those visits, my daughter has never seen the doctor. I wonder if he ever stops to think that my daughter's file must be the smallest of any toddler in his practice, and ask himself why.