Expectant Parents’ Questions

When will you see my baby after birth?

If you deliver at Cooley Dickinson, in Northampton, I will see your baby when you are in the hospital. Sometimes the obstetrician or midwife requests my presence at the time of delivery, and sometimes a nurse will call me to see your newborn right away. Otherwise, I will see your baby the morning after s/he is born.

I will see your baby every day until the baby goes home with you.

If you deliver at another hospital, another pediatrician or family doctor will see your baby on the same basis as above. At Baystate, if delivery attendance or urgent review of your newborn is requested, a doctor (or two, or three ... It is a teaching hospital!) from newborn intensive care will look after your baby.

There is no need to select a baby doctor from another hospital’s staff, unless you know who you prefer. If you do not indicate a choice, the on-call, “service doctor”, a fully-qualified pediatrician, will see your baby when you are in hospital.

When will my baby’s first office visit be?

I usually request a visit within 2-3 days. This is because most babies and moms go home so soon after delivery. It is usually not until after you get home that your milk comes in, that we can tell how effectively the baby is feeding, and how jaundiced s/he might get, for example.

How often does my baby need to see you?

In the first month, it depends entirely on what comes up for the mom and baby.

For a first-time mom who is nursing, I usually see the baby 2-3 times in the first month. Sometimes it is more appropriate for the baby to come in more often.

After the baby turns one month old, there is a regular schedule of check-ups that most doctors follow. I want to see your baby for check-ups at 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months old, and in the second year at 15 months and 18 months.

What do you think about circumcision?

Many couples have conflicting views about circumcision. This is also the case in the medical community. In general, circumcision needs to be recognised as primarily a cosmetic procedure, though there can be some medical benefits. There is a slightly reduced risk of urinary tract infections in circumcised boys, and a lower risk of cancer of the penis. But both of these conditions are uncommon. On the other hand, for an “elective” procedure, the risk of a complication, including excess bleeding, is high for circumcision, compared to other “routine” surgeries.

I recommend that if parents do seek circumcision, they discuss the use of local anesthetic for their baby, and consider the use of oral pain relievers afterwards.

What should I do if I am worried or have a question about my baby?

I try to anticipate the changes and problems you might encounter, and raise them with you at routine visits. For example, I want you to know what is considered a fever (≥100.4°F rectally in a baby), and whether or not that is an urgent problem, depending on your child's age.

However when something comes up that we haven’t covered yet, or you think something is not ok, you can call the office for advice or information. When the office is open, you can speak with a nurse, with me, or leave a message for one of us to call you back (if neither of us is available). When the office is closed, the office voice mail explains when we are open again, how to a leave a message if it is non-urgent, or how to page me if you think it is urgent. Sometimes a registered nurse takes the initial call after hours.