Pediatric Care at Warner Family Practice

As a new parent you begin thinking about which pediatrician you will take your baby to long before your baby is born. You’ll talk to your friends and co-workers to get the name of the best doctor for your precious bundle of joy. What you might be missing is that you can bring your new baby to your family doctor who you already know and love. Warner Family Practice is the perfect place to bring your newborn. Most of our practitioners are parents who love babies, children and adolescents. After all Family Practice is in our name.

What is Pediatric Care?

Pediatrics is the branch of medicine dealing with the health and medical care of infants, children and adolescents from birth through the age of 18. The word “pediatrics” means “healer of children.” Besides healing children, we focus a lot on parent education, especially with first-time parents.

We start practicing preventive care right away, even with babies. In fact, there is a schedule we set when babies should come in to be seen by their provider. Here is a typical schedule when you should bring in your baby:

• Two weeks
• One month
• Two months
• Four months
• Every three months from six months through 18 months
• 24 months
• After age two, children are seen annually unless they are ill.

These appointments are called well-child checkups. At age 18, pediatric care becomes primary care. Some pediatricians will see patients up to age 21, then they will be referred to a primary care provider.

What happens at a well-child checkup?

A physical exam is performed at every appointment and your baby will be weighed and measured to make sure they are growing and healthy. The provider will ask you questions about your baby’s development to determine if milestones are being met, and you will have a chance to ask questions of the the health care provider. Immunizations will also be given according to the schedule determined by the CDC.

An annual exam for children and adolescents are similar but with more interaction between provider and child. A physical exam is performed, development and milestones are discussed and you will have a chance to ask any questions you have about your child’s development.

The health care provider will also begin to talk to you about safety. Some questions they may ask include:

• Do you have smoke detectors in your home?
• Are cleaning products secured safely?
• Does your child wear a helmet when riding their bike?

Your provider may talk directly to an adolescent about changes in their bodies, sex and drug or tobacco use. Kids can ask the provider questions as well.

Immunizations have received a lot of attention in the press and through social media, much of it negative. Parents have questions and concerns about them, and we will do our best to answer them by analyzing the science, looking at the research, weighing the pros and cons and sharing that with you. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a great website with a lot of information, as well as immunization schedules. Bottom line – immunizations save lives, hundreds of thousands of lives and stamp out serious diseases.

Why Warner Family Practice?

While training in Family medicine, a large part of our education is in pediatrics. Most childhood issues can be extremely well taken care of at a family practice. Occasionally, we may need to refer you to a pediatric specialist – but most things we can take care of. Well-child visits and vaccinations are routine – we do those day-in and day-out.

If you think of something you want to ask, write it down or use a voice memo app on your phone. You can also use the patient portal on our website. If your question or concern is too complicated, schedule a visit by calling us, 480.831.8457.

We understand that your children are everything to you and you can rest assured that they will be in good hands.

Our contributing provider to this article on Pediatric Care is Dr. Neil Sheth. Dr. Sheth graduated from Ross University School of Medicine in 2004 and earned his Medical Degree. When it comes to caring for patients, Dr. Sheth places great emphasis on preventative care. He sees the active practice of preventative care as a way to diagnose problems early and make necessary changes.

Dr. Sheth joined Warner Family Practice in 2011.

Learn More About Dr. Sheth