Preparing For Baby – Part One
Today’s expectant parents have many options. Because of the wide variety of life-styles and parenting styles, they need them.
Choosing Dr. Right For Your Baby
There are three qualities a parent looks for in choosing a doctor for their baby. The doctor must be able, affable, and available. These three “A’s” of doctor choosing haven’t changed for a long time. Besides hospitals, other physicians, and medical societies, the best references are given by parents themselves. If you are expecting your first baby or are new to a community, ask friends and neighbors about the qualifications of several doctors and interview them prenatally. Here’s how to get the most out of your prenatal interview with the doctor:
* Take a written list of your most important concerns and parenting issues to determine whether your needs are in harmony with your doctor’s philosophies.
* If you have a special needs, such as “I want to continue breastfeeding even though I’m returning to work,” ask if the doctor can help you with this.
* Avoid negatives openers. Nothing is more nonproductive than opening the interview with an “I don’t want” list –for example, “I don’t want my baby to have any bottles in the hospital.” It is more productive to ask, “What is your policy about giving bottles to breastfeeding babies in the hospital?” Remember, your urpose for the interview is to determine if you and the prospective pediatrician are on the same wavelength. Negative openers close your mind to the possibility that you may learn something from the doctor’s response.
* Keep your interview brief and to the point. Most doctors do not charge for prenatal interviews, and five minutes is usually enough to make a doctor assessment. If you honestly feel you need more time, offer to make a regular appointment so you can pay for the time. Rambling about future behavior worries or trying to cover the whole field of pediatrics, from bed-wetting to vitamins, is not the purpose of your visit.
* Are you and the doctor of a similar mindset? For example, if you are committed to breastfeeding and your doctor is a charter member of the bottle feeding set, he or she may be Dr. Wrong for you.
* Ask about the availability of special services in your doctor’s practice. For example, if you are planning to breastfeed, does your docotor employ the services of a lactation consultant, and how does he or she use the consultant?
* Browse around the office. Either before or after your time with the doctor, here are some observations to consider as you make your reconnaissance. Sit in the waiting room awhile and observe the spirit of the office. Is there a child-considered atmosphere, orderly but friendly and flexible? Is there child-considered furniture that is practical and safe? Is the staff approachable over what may seem to you the silliest of questions?
* Observe the provision for separating sick, possibly contagious children from those who are well. Separate “sick” and “well” waiting rooms, a favorite question on printed sheets handed out at childbirth classes, are impractical. Nobody wants to use the sick waiting room. A more practical method of separating sick and well patients is to immediately shuttle potentially contagious children into an examining room, leaving the waiting room for children who are there for checkups and children who are not contagious. pkt.pl