How to choose a pediatrician: questions to ask before birth

The short answer

Start your shortlist in the second trimester, and meet pediatricians in the third. The AAP recommends a prenatal visit with a pediatrician in the third trimester [1][2]. Your baby is checked in the hospital and seen again within days of going home [3].
Check your insurance first. A great pediatrician who’s out of network is an expensive one.
Ask for a meet-the-pediatrician visit. Most pediatricians offer one before birth [2]. Ask whether there’s a charge.
The questions that matter most are about access: who answers at 2am, how fast you get a sick visit, and who sees your baby in the hospital.
You can switch later. Choosing now just means you know who to call on day one.

You’re choosing who you’ll call in the middle of the night about a rash. Pick someone you like.

Pediatricians are doctors with specialty training in the health of children, from birth through the teen years. Most are board certified [1].
Family medicine doctors care for the whole family, from babies to grandparents. Some parents like one doctor for everyone.
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants do checkups in many practices, working with the doctors.

Any of these can be the right fit. What matters most is training in newborn care, how easy they are to reach, and whether you trust them.

Ask people who live near you which practice they use, and why they stay.
Ask your OB or midwife who they’d send their own family to.
Check your health plan’s directory for in-network pediatric practices. Then call the practice to confirm. Directories are often out of date.
Check which hospitals they work with. If they don’t see newborns at your hospital, a hospital pediatrician will check your baby there. That’s normal. Just know who it will be.

Bring your partner if you can. Here are the questions, in rough order of how much they’ll matter at 2am.

What happens if my baby is sick at night or on a weekend? Is there a nurse line, and who answers it?
How fast can we get a same-day sick visit?
How do you answer messages through the patient portal, and how fast?
Do you offer video visits?

Which doctors, nurse practitioners or physician assistants will we see? Can we see the same person most of the time?
Where do you send babies after hours: an urgent care, or a children’s hospital emergency room?
Do you have separate waiting areas for sick and well children?
What are your hours? Is there a location near where we live or work?

Will you see our baby in the hospital, or does a hospital pediatrician? How do we let you know the baby’s born?
When is the first office visit after we go home?
Is there help with feeding, such as a lactation consultant on staff?

What’s your approach to vaccines, and do you follow the AAP schedule? (See the vaccine guide.)
How do you support parents’ mental health? Do you screen for postpartum depression?
How do you decide when a baby needs a specialist?

Are you in network with our plan, and with our baby’s plan if it’ll be different?
Is there a charge for this visit?
How do you bill if we bring up a new problem during a checkup?

Ask yourselves:

The last one decides it.

Tell the practice your due date and hospital.
Put their number in both phones, and on the hospital bag checklist.
Know your plan’s deadline to add your baby. For job-based plans it’s usually 30 days from birth [4].

HealthyChildren.org (AAP), “How to Choose a Pediatrician.” healthychildren.org
HealthyChildren.org (AAP), “Expectant Parents Encouraged to Visit Pediatrician Before Birth of Baby.” healthychildren.org
American Academy of Pediatrics, Bright Futures, “Recommendations for Preventive Pediatric Health Care” (periodicity schedule). aap.org
US Department of Labor, “Life Changes Require Health Choices: Know Your Benefit Options.” dol.gov