Newborn Care
Newborn care is generally provided by pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners. Typically, once discharged from the hospital, a well newborn should follow up with their primary care provider within the first week of being home. Based on the age of the infant as well as the progress of feedings and weight gain, additional visits may be needed before the infant turns one month old. Once growing well and eating well, as long as the family is doing well with adapting to having a new baby at home, the baby will return for a one-month visit. We have the best newborn care pediatricians and nurse practitioners in Florence, SC and Manning, SC.
At the first visits with your baby’s provider, you should expect that he or she will be weighed and his or her length, as well as head circumference, will be measured by a nurse or medical assistant. This allows your baby’s provider to track and follow his or her growth. The infant will usually receive a full examination by his or her provider. Important things discussed will be feedings, including what type of feeding your baby is receiving. Specifically, if your baby is on formula, his or her provider would want to know what type of formula.
If your baby is breastfeeding, important things to discuss would be how often your baby is feeding, if you are pumping breast milk at all, and any difficulties or concerns you have with breastfeeding. How often your baby is having wet and dirty diapers is very important to discuss, as this gives his or her provider more information regarding how much he or she is eating, and if he or she is tolerating their formula or breast milk feedings.
What To Bring To Your Baby’s First Visit
Good things to bring to your baby’s first visit would include any information on your baby that you were given at his or her hospital discharge, including any medications or immunizations given to your baby. If you had any health problems during delivery or during pregnancy, that is also something important to discuss with your baby’s provider during the first visits.
We enjoy watching your baby grow, and we also enjoy watching you learn to care for your baby and become educated about what is best for your baby as he or she grows.
Our Passion for Newborn Care
We as pediatric providers have a passion for newborn care. We follow recommendations provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics on developmental milestones expected for infants as they grow as well as recommended screening tools to complete at certain well visits. The ultimate goal of newborn care in the primary care setting is to closely monitor for any concerns with a new baby’s health as well as to help enable parents and families to take care of their new baby to the best of their ability.