Newborns & feeding
Why we see parents before the baby is born
A prenatal visit with the pediatrician is free, takes 30 minutes, and answers the questions that otherwise get asked at 2 a.m. in the hospital: feeding, vaccines, circumcision, car seats and who to call.
Your obstetrician or midwife cares for you through the pregnancy. A pediatrician’s prenatal visit is different: it is about the person who is about to arrive, and about making sure that on the day you go home from the hospital, you already know your baby’s doctor.
What happens at the visit
You come in during the last trimester, without the baby, for about 30 minutes. Dr. Viswanadham or Adam Ayer asks about the pregnancy, your family’s medical history, and how you plan to feed the baby, then answers your list. Common questions: how breastfeeding gets started, what the hospital will do in the first 48 hours, the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, vitamin K, circumcision, safe sleep, car seat installation, and what counts as an emergency in a newborn.
Why it matters
- You choose a pediatrician calmly, not from a hospital list at discharge
- The hospital knows where to send the newborn record, so nothing is lost
- Feeding problems get caught at the first visit, two to three days after discharge, instead of at two weeks
- Family history that matters for the baby, for example a sibling with a heart condition or a parent with a genetic condition, is on the chart before the first exam
- You know who to call at 3 a.m., and that someone will answer
Things we can settle before the birth
Whether you want to see a lactation consultant early. Whether the baby will need extra monitoring, for example after gestational diabetes or a mother’s medication. Which hospital you are delivering at and how their newborn team works. Whether a sibling should come to the first visits. Whether the practice takes your insurance, and adding the baby to the plan within 30 days of birth, which parents often forget.
For the mother’s health
We are not your doctor, but we ask at every newborn visit how you are, and we screen for postpartum depression through the first six months. The prenatal visit is when we say this out loud, so that if the weeks after birth are dark, you already know it is something we will ask about and help with.
Call the office to book a prenatal visit. Visits in Spanish are available.
