Family Practice or Pediatrics?

[jlanda]

So I'm due to give birth to our first in a little over a month, and I'm in the search for a doctor for our little one. I'm just not sure which is better, an actual pediatrician or a family practice doc. Reason I'm asking is because the doctor group that I personally see and like is a family practice group of DO's which I tend to prefer over MD's. I know that family practice is supposed to take infants through elderly, but what is the real difference and should I choose one over the other?

There may be a better forum for this question, but I wasn't sure which, and since I'm in Somerset County, NJ, I figured I'd start here. Finding a DO in pediatrics is almost impossible it seems (at least somewhat close to me,) but if an actual pediatrician is better for the little one, then I'll just have to keep searching.

[CookieMonsterMommy]

My opinion is, if you have someone you know and like and feel comfortable with, stick with that. Especially for a healthy babe.

If your child had special medical needs, I might be leaning towards suggesting you look for a pediatrician, but you don't mention that being th case.

Basically, FP docs learn a little bit of everything, where as peds docs go through more training specializing solely in the care of babies-teens. *GENERALLY, a pediatrician will know of more advances and have more info about things like cerebral palsy, spina bifida, ADD/ADHD, the autism spectrum, and all the special health care needs a preemie baby would have.

*This also depends on the size of the practice, when/where the practitioners went to school, if they're board certified, how good they are at remaining current, etc etc.

**How they practice (promoting BFing, GD, delayed or non-vaxing, etc) depends on the group and individual practitioners. I've known of peds MDs who didn't vax their own kids or push their clients to vax theirs....and I've had a family practice DO tell me I was essentially handing my kid a life time of illness and risk by not vaxing.

Talk with your current docs and see where they stand on the issues important to you. If they mesh there as well, then I think you know the answer to your question

[dlm194]

I switched from a pediatric practice in Somerset County to a family physician practice. The FPs have been a lot more lenient about my vaxing schedule and my parenting philosophies in general. My peds were very strict and by-the-book on "What the AAP says." I got tired of fighting with them.

That being said, my peds were a smaller practice and much more personal. I knew I could call at any time and get answers. The FP is much bigger so we get a little more lost in the shuffle but I've been happy with their care overall. The FPs are mostly DOs but, ironically enough, we've clicked with 1 of the MDs and seem to see her a lot. I would use a place that you are comfortable with. FPs seem to love seeing babies since that's not their sole focus.

[mamadodson]

I think it really just depends on the dr themselves, I personally would definately prefer a pedi over a FP anyday, I think they deal with children more and see more sicknesses and are more aware of what is going around etc. The pedi I take my kids to is great, their office is not judgemental at all and doesnt try to push views on you, they go with what you want for your child, of course they will slip you some materials to read if they do think otherwise, but wont push you, it is a great place we have gone there for 9 years, so i would recommend trying a couple of different places both pedi's and FP. Good luck

[marisa724]

I've been seeing a DO in family practice for all of us for almost five years now. I agree that it depends on the individual doctor a lot, but I have had a great experience. My kids are never sick, so a lack of specific expertise in pediatrics has never bothered us. I also like that she can be the primary care physician for all of us; I feel like she's really developed a relationship with our family and they know me when I call the office (even though we're almost never there outside of the occasional checkup). She always has plenty of children in her office and I would never doubt her ability to stay on top of 'what's going around' simply because she also treats older patients. She also put up the literature I had given her about LLL.

[TortelliniMama]

One of the reasons I love our FP's office is because they *don't* deal with children as much. We've gotten a much more impressed reaction from the office staff when calling to schedule a sick visit. (Granted, I haven't scheduled one in 3 1/2 years or so, but it was impressive those two times. ) A little one with a decent fever gets much faster attention when it's not the 20th sick kid that day, kwim? I haven't found that the doctors have been any less clueful as far as kids' illnesses go, either. I mean, if a kid has strep or rotovirus, he has it whether it's going around or not.

That being said, I didn't set out to find a FP. She was just the doctor who best met our needs (bfing friendly and knowledgeable, foreskin friendly, concerned about vaxing (about the effects of it, I mean, not about getting us to do it), AP friendly). I think it's entirely possible to find a ped who meets your own requirements, as well as a FP who you wouldn't want near your kid. Pick the person, not the title.