Well Child checkups (WCC) are recommended by American academy of pediatrics (AAP). It would be nice if the child has regular checkups even though they are not sick to monitor growth, to detect any existent unknown physical problem. There are situations when parents might get used to a particular symptom and might unintentionally consider that it is normal. Also now a days some insurance companies do not pay the WCCs and can become a financial burden for the family. The site might give you some idea about some of the things to watch for. At most places local health department do some type of checkups even though a physician may not check them. Different physicians follow different frequency of visits. One which would make the most sense would be as follows.

• 2weeks, 2, 4, 6 and 12 months
  
• 2,3,4,5 years
  
• Every 1 to 2 years after 5 years of age until puberty
  
• Every 1 year during adolescence            
  

      An office visit at about 2 days after discharge was recently recommended by AAP to check for feeding and jaundice. AAP is recommending to closely monitor newborns for jaundice. Most babies have jaundice. Occasionally it can get too high causing damage to the brain. The severity can be assessed by checking the baby under bright florescent light or bright daylight. Obviously keep yellow things away from the baby when you are checking for jaundice. Some feel that there is a tendency for jaundice to show up from head to toe as the jaundice (due to bilirubin in blood)  increases. Rule of thumb would be if the jaundice is present below the belly button after 2 days of birth then it is a good idea to discuss with your doctor. However many health care providers might feel visual assessment is not accurate. There is no doubt that the accurate way of assessing jaundice would be by doing a blood test for bilirubin level. Some places have a bili meter which gives a rough idea about jaundice without a blood draw. When in doubt see a health care provider as severe jaundice can lead to permanent brain damage and other consequences. The information in this paragraph does not apply to jaundice seen after 1 month of age.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Looking for a book on a particular medical problem or anything else? Use the convenient link below to buy from a popular vendor at a competitive price.

Search: All ProductsApparel & AccessoriesBabyBeautyBooksDVDElectronicsHome & GardenGourmet FoodHealth & Personal CareJewelry & WatchesKitchen & HousewaresMagazine SubscriptionsMusical InstrumentsMusicComputersCamera & PhotoSoftwareSports & OutdoorsTools & HardwareToys & GamesVHSComputer & Video GamesCell Phones & Service Keywords: