Choosing a Pediatrician 

Choosing the right pediatrician doesn’t just help your baby. It also helps you! Pediatricians and their staff provide valuable advice on caring for your newborn, from sleep tips to breastfeeding support.

Start looking for a pediatrician when you're in your second trimester of pregnancy. That gives you plenty of time to interview prospective providers before your baby is born.

The most common —  and often the best  — way to find a pediatrician is to ask friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances for recommendations. Local parenting groups are also a good resource.

What to Ask When Interviewing Pediatricians

Because your pediatrician will play such an important role in your child's life, it's a good idea to meet and talk with potential candidates before you make a decision.

Consider these areas when preparing questions for potential doctors:

Background and Credentials

You can use our Find a Doctor tool to look up Sutter Health doctors by name or specialty. Their profiles include a biographical sketch, including education, board certification, hospital privileges, special interests and other helpful information. If you have questions, you can also check the status of a doctor's license online at The American Board of Pediatrics.

Philosophy of Care

Discuss decisions that are likely to come up, such as circumcision (if you're expecting a boy), nutrition and vaccination. Some pediatricians also include their philosophy of care as part of their online physician profile. It's important that your beliefs and parenting philosophy are compatible with your pediatrician’s philosophy of care.

Office Procedures

Find out how well your pediatrician's office systems work with your schedule and specific needs. Ask how to make an appointment, how far in advance you need to schedule visits and how long you'll have to wait to see the pediatrician once you arrive.

If the office has more than one pediatrician or includes pediatric nurse practitioners, ask how often you'll see your pediatrician and when you'll see others. Also ask whether the office has special health and safety procedures. Do they separate patients who may be contagious from those who are well, or use special precautions for unvaccinated children during outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses?

Hospital Affiliation

Find out if your pediatrician is affiliated with the hospital where you plan to give birth and will see your baby in the hospital before you head home. In many practices, pediatricians take turns visiting patients in the hospital or have a doctor dedicated to just seeing hospitalized patients (a pediatric hospitalist). One important question to ask: If your baby won't see their pediatrician in the hospital, how will pediatric care be handled?

Additional Services

Ask if the office offers any online services for getting answers to non-urgent questions, reviewing your child’s medical records and test results, booking appointments and requesting prescription refills. Learn how to enroll your baby in My Heath Online. Also check to see if the office performs onsite diagnostic services such as blood tests and X-rays.

Payment for Services

Make sure the office accepts your insurance plan and find out how payment and insurance billing works.

Before you make a final decision, you may want to interview more than one pediatrician and compare notes. Some practices hold special events for expecting parents where you can learn more about newborn care and meet one or more of the practice’s pediatricians.