'Well Baby' visits and Paediatricians..........?

Question

So, I understand that in the US its common practice to have a designated paediatrician for your children, and you take them for check ups even when there is no medical problem.

I am in the UK, and as far as I know it's not common to have a designated paediatrician for your child unless there is something wrong with them, and it's not common to go to 'well baby' visits.......although many areas have baby clinics staffed by health visitors. I don't know anyone that has a Paediatrician for their child or baby, and most of my friends have children.

Is this correct? Is there anyone in either country that have had different experiences of the system, and why?

Answer 1

I'm in the UK, Scotland to be precise, and my kids are seen by a Health Visitor for immunisations and developmental checks, although the checks have gone from 6, 12, and 18months to just 18months. We go to our GP for any ilnesses and if the GP thinks we need referred to the Paed then he'll arrange it.

Answer 2

In the UK it is my understanding that health visitors come to your house to check your baby and that these same health visitors administer vaccines.

All of the "well-baby" visits in the US are for the purposes of administering vaccines except the first one at two weeks.

I live in Canada and while in my province you have to go to the doctor (some other provinces have health visitors) it is somewhat common to have a paediatrician for a child. However both Canada and the UK have public health insurance and it is very much a waste of money for a healthy baby/child to see a paediatrician. Pediatricians are specialists and most children should be seen by family doctors. There is a push from time to time to make that happen here.

Answer 3

Not everybody has a pediatrician. Some just go to a Family practitioner and skip the ped entirely. Still others skip well baby clinics and just go for the vaccinations. I honestly think that there is only limited value for well baby checks unless you had a preemie (who have special concerns) or have some concern. Not a single, serious condition has been diagnosed at a well baby check of anybody I know (and that's a lot of people). For example, a coworker had a baby hospitalized for kidney failure only 2 days after a well-baby check. How useful was that?

Also, in the US, you have to pay for every visit. Parents with no insurance or high deductibles can't afford all these visits when a child isn't ill in the first place. Not to mention the fact that they have to take unpaid time off of work to take the child. Going to the County Health Dept. you can get vaccinations very inexpensively.

Answer 4

In Australia we don't generally have a paediatrician for healthy babies. We do have well baby visits though, it's normal to have your baby seen at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 8 months, 12 months, 18 months, 2 years and 3.5 to 4 years, at which time they have a developmental check and their vaccinations by a Maternal and Child Health Nurse. The MCHN is funded to see children up to age five.

I have a paediatrician for one of my children, as he has cerebral palsy, but none of my other children (four others) have any need for one.

Answer 5

I'm in Spain and here it's common to have a pediatrician, either private or one designated by the public insurance system. We have baby clinics also. I'm actually very happy with how things work here, let's see how it goes in the US, I'm moving there in 4 months.

I also answered your other question and I told you that my friends in London and Dublin took their babies to regular "well baby" checkups, but maybe that's not the usual thing to do there.

I believe those appointments are very important. My daughter gets weighed and measured (head included) to check that she's growing properly, I also get very good guidelines for baby food, otherwise I wouldn't be sure about what to feed my daughter. Also, all babies are not the same, therefore, you need a personal opinion on that. I don't know if I'm making sense lol.

Interesting question!

Answer 6

I live in Singapore (Asia, Southeast Asia). My daughter has a designated PD becos of my choice. I trust her as she is very experienced and gentle with children. She is trained in UK and is now nearly 70 years old.
Well baby visits are common because of immunization and vaccines. By law in Singapore, our child cannot enroll into primary one unless they have taken their immunization and vaccinations. A health book stated all needs to be signed by the approved clinics and doctors. Singapore government even sent reminder to parents if they do not seen this on record. Well visits is also to give parents assurance that there child is growing at the right trending for their age.

from parentingblessings

Answer 7

Im in the US and we have tons of well baby visits. The first one is when they are like 3 days old, then 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12months, and then 15 months. The get their immunizations, and the doctor can make sure that any questions you have are answered and that the baby is growing at a healthy rate. This is especially helpful for first time parents!

Answer 8

I always had a pediatrician for my kids (7). The Dr. makes sure your child gets all their immunizations, tracks growth and development, & answers questions about childhood illnesses. The Dr. can help you to be the best parent you can be for your child. I think it's important for new mom's who may not be aware of what's normal regarding development. If your child is followed for all their shots, you can be sure that anything unusual will be picked up early on. I had a great pediatrician for my kids and he taught me alot.

Answer 9

We have antenatal clinics and prenatal clinics here, and the midwives and health visitors visit home at certain times to check on the child.

Bear in mind too that we have virtually instant and free access to doctors, whilst the US have to pay for this.

Answer 10

I live in the us. and we have many well visits. It's for immunizations and checking to make sure they are growing the way they need to .