Q: How often should my child see the pediatrician?
A: Your child should not only see the pediatrician for an illness. It is also important to schedule well-child-care exams regularly, beginning in infancy. Also called well-care visits, sports physicals, or checkups, these routine examinations provide the best opportunity for the doctor to observe the progress of your child's physical and mental growth and development; to counsel and teach parents; to detect problems through screening tests; to provide immunizations, and to get to know one another. Well-care visits are strongly recommended as part of preventive pediatric care.
Well-child visits are also a good time for parents to raise questions and concerns about a child's development, behavior, nutrition, safety and overall well-being.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends this schedule for routine preventive care visits:
- 1 to 2 weeks
- 1 month
- 2 months
- 4 months
- 6 months
- 9 months
- 12 months
- 15 months
- 18 months
- 24 months
- 30 months
- 3 years
- 4 years
- And once every year thereafter for an annual health supervision visit that includes a physical exam as well as a developmental, behavioral, and learning assessment.
Q: What if I need advice after the office is closed?
A: Call our office number and you will be directed to the mobile phone of the doctor on-call. Please hold non-urgent calls for regular office hours.
Q: Is your office accepting new patients?
A: Yes, we welcome new patients! Contact our office for additional information to request an appointment.
Q: What happens when we're expecting a new baby?
A: When you are admitted to the hospital notify your obstetrician and the hospital staff that you have chosen Pediatric Associates of Hillsborough (Dr. Senator and Dr. Jain) as your child's pediatricians. The newborn will be attended to by the hospital pediatrician and should be seen in our office within 2 days after discharge.
Q: Why does my child need to receive vaccinations?
A: Immunizations are a series of shots given to children at different ages to help ward off serious, and potentially fatal, childhood diseases. Making sure your child receives immunizations when scheduled is the best way to help protect your child from potentially fatal diseases. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, vaccinations have reduced the number of infections from vaccine-preventable diseases by more than 90%. If you have questions about vaccinations, please do not hesitate to contact our office.