Would you skip a well baby check up?

[A home for their hearts]

My dd1 is due for her 1 year check up but since we haven't met our deductable yet I'm thinking of just skipping it. It's would be just one more bill we couldn't pay. I took her last week to get her vaccinations at the health dept so that isn't an issue. She is a very healthy baby and I just don't see the point in taking her if we can't afford it.

[Amira]

I skipped lots of well-baby checkups when our insurance didn't cover them, especially since it was a lot cheaper to go to the health dept for the vaccinations.

[Renee in NC]

My 2.5yo hasn't had a well-baby check since she turned 15 months. And that was the first one since she was 6 months.

[caitlinsmom]

I never take my kids to them unless I have another concern that is big. Otherwise what can they tell me that I dont already know. :) I can see they are growing and quite well.

[sleepy]

Yep, I'd skip it. I prefer to stay out of the doctor's office in and around flu season, anyway.

[lwilliams1922]

If you have other children/experience and feel your baby is healthy then

I think you are ok.

 

I'm on baby #3. She is 18 months and the picture of health.

I've done everything I could to feed her natural healthy foods and there is limited exposure to chemicals or processed food or a family health history indicating things.

 

#3 was my home birth baby and has only seen by a doc twice.

 

 

My 2.5yo hasn't had a well-baby check since she turned 15 months. And that was the first one since she was 6 months.

[hsmamainva]

I only did the 6 week well-baby check ups with my last three. I got tired of the fight about vaccinations.

 

Ditto. Same here. I only take them to the doctor if they're sick.

[beansprouts]

I generally don't take my kids in unless I have specific concerns.

[milovany]

We have seven kids, and I can count on one hand how many well-baby visits they've all been too -- and all of them were for baby #1. We haven't been to the doctor since, unless something came up and we needed medical care (which we have been thankful FOR when we did need it!).

 

So I guess my answer would be "Yes, I think it's okay if you skip the well baby visit."

[lighthouseacademy]

I am another in the I skip them unless I have a medical concern... which is RARE.

[mrsdash]

Here,too. My kids don't know their doctor..I suppose she doesn't know us,either. I don't ever bring them and nobody ever gets sick enough to see a doctor. I'd skip it.

[Philothea]

I think well-baby visits are a money making machine.

 

We just found our new doctor, and we are taking the kids all for an inital visit, but after that he does not have to see us unless we have a concern. He's a holistic MD. Since we don't vacinate, there is not really any need for well baby either.

 

But if you have a chance, and do not have one already, a book about children's health and symptoms is really great to have on hand so you can evaluate the situation and weigh whether you need to take them to the doctor.

 

Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child is my favorite book for children's health.

[Colleen]

Regardless of whether or not the visit was covered I'd skip it. That's my norm.

[Alphabetika]

My dd's are 14 and 10, and other than immunizations, they've rarely been to a doctor in their lives. Go with your gut and skip it. You know whether your baby is "well" or not.

[Rosie_0801]

We have free check ups through the council for kiddies, every few months. I gave up going to Zia's after her 8 month check. She sees a chiropractor, so he'd pick up hip problems or any of that jazz. Otherwise, the baby book says what milestones to look for so, and when vaccinations are due (tonight- making dh take her 'coz I can't handle it anymore!) So that's that. The infant welfare nurses kept talking to me as if I was some kind of idiot, told me she was a touch underweight, and we discovered she'd plotted her on the boy chart. Der...

The last time she went to the doctor was for her 10 day check. Why see a doctor if you aren't sick?!!

:)

Rosie

[joannqn]

Because we don't vaccinate, our pediatrician has told us we don't need to come in for most of the well-baby visits. The suggested schedule was designed around getting the vaccines. Since we don't get vaccines, he said, there is no point in coming for the appointment unless we really wanted to for some other reason.

[tibbyl]

I consider well baby visits a waste of time and money.

[jojomojo]

I only did the 6 week well-baby check ups with my last three. I got tired of the fight about vaccinations.

 

 

Same here, my youngest's last WBC was also her first at 7 weeks :tongue_smilie:

[GailV]

Second dd had a well-baby visit at 6 weeks and the next was at 6 years.

 

Just not a priority here.

[*********]

Seems as though everyone that's commented agrees that skipping it is no big deal, which is my feeling, too. Of course with my first baby, I went to every visit, got every immunization, and paid BIG bills because our ins. only covered so much. Let's just say, I had less than no idea what I was doing. With #2, it's been MUCH different. :)

[SapphireStitch]

Can I just say that hanging out with y'all does my heart good? Sometimes amongst my IRL friends I start feeling like a child-abusing weirdo because my kids so seldom see a doctor.

 

We do vaccinate and DS is overdue for his pre-kindy boosters (he's 7 and in 1st grade...yikes!) and I'm just dragging my feet about it right now. I should have got it taken care of this summer, and now it's cold and flu season and the LAST place I want to be is at the ped's office.

 

Our ped is a great guy, BTW, it's not that I dislike him. He told me once that a great deal of his patient load is just manufactured by school and daycare policies. IOW, the parents have to have a doctor's note to get the kiddos back into school or daycare so they don't have the luxury of deciding on their own that their child isn't that sick.

[lwilliams1922]

wow, reading this thread is making me feel at home.

 

after baby #2 i've relied a lot more on personal research and the mommy instinct.

 

#1 went to EVERY scheduled visit and had ever vax, with the exception of chicken pox. She caught every cold that came by and an equal amount of ear infections.

 

#2 went to 3-4 well baby visits before I got tired of being bulled.

 

#3 was a home birth and was seen by my midwife who came back to to a check and only once with the ped. He didn't like the fact that I didn't get the vit K shot. I saved him the aggravation of dealing with me. :)

 

#2 and #3 hardly ever get sick and have never had an ear infection.

 

I have a friend from college that's now a pharmacist & we chat about issues but other than that I read about anything i have questions on.

 

 

I kinda wish there was a group for those of us here that trust the mommy instinct. Then I remembered, that can be a touchy subject for some that are passionate on both sides. sigh...

 

None the less... I'm glad to hear about so many of you.

There just aren't many where we live now.

Edited October 28, 2008 by lwilliams1922
typos

[Sebastian (a lady)]

My dd1 is due for her 1 year check up but since we haven't met our deductable yet I'm thinking of just skipping it. It's would be just one more bill we couldn't pay. I took her last week to get her vaccinations at the health dept so that isn't an issue. She is a very healthy baby and I just don't see the point in taking her if we can't afford it.

 

Is there a medical school with a teaching hospital that might be an option for you? Or a nurse practicioner that could hit the major developmental milestones with you without costing you the full cost of a doctor's visit?

 

One consideration I would think through before not doing a check up would be if there was anyone who would be holding this against me. So if there had every been a cps investigation or if I had a blended family or if I had relatives who were antagonistic, I might think twice before just skipping a visit.

[Murphy101]

nope.

I do the first check up after the birth, but that's about it.

Drs are for sick people.

If we're not sick, we don't go to drs.

 

Actually, even if we're sick we don't go very often.

What's the point? They can't treat the common cold, so it's a waste of money unless one thinks it's more than a virus.:)

[Diane]

My almost 5 year old daughter has been to the dr. 3 times in her life. One was her first 6 week visit, another was for a bad cough, the last was just for a well visit- just checked her over, etc...You are more than okay to sick this visit, in my opinion. You may save your child from catching some terrible germs.

[cathmom]

I must say I'm shocked! I think well-child checkups are important. I would skip one here or there, but I would not just wholesale disregard them whether I vaccinated or not.

[lighthouseacademy]

I must say I'm shocked! I think well-child checkups are important. I would skip one here or there, but I would not just wholesale disregard them whether I vaccinated or not.

 

When I had ds, I faithfully took him in for the first few... every time I asked the dr why I was there because we were not vaccinating and all they did was check to see how much he weighed and how tall he was and if he was hitting his developmental milestones, all of which I could do at home. He never had an answer for me that told me that there was a true medical benefit to being there. Since he couldn't give me a logical reason to be there other than because that is what we do, we don't do them. If he had ever given me a medical reason why we should be there, then I would have a different perspective.

Edited October 28, 2008 by lighthouseacademy

[Murphy101]

When I had ds, I faithfully took him in for the first few... every time I asked the dr why I was there because we were not vaccinating and all they did was check to see how much he weighed and how tall he was and if he was hitting his developmental milestones, all of which I could do at home. He never had an answer for me that told me that there was a true medical benefit to being there. Since he couldn't give me a logical reason to be there other than because that is what we do, we don't do them. If he had ever given me a medical reason why we should be there, then I would have a different perspective.

 

yep.

me too.

never missed a one with the first 3 kids

height

weight

development progress

that's it

I don't need to pay someone for that at this point.

[GailV]

When I had ds, I faithfully took him in for the first few... every time I asked the dr why I was there because we were not vaccinating and all they did was check to see how much he weighed and how tall he was and if he was hitting his developmental milestones, all of which I could do at home. He never had an answer for me that told me that there was a true medical benefit to being there. Since he couldn't give me a logical reason to be there other than because that is what we do, we don't do them. If he had ever given me a medical reason why we should be there, then I would have a different perspective.

 

Y'know, my SIL pointed out that it's nice for the doctor to see and get to know your child while he/she is healthy. That way when you go in with a sick child there's a relationship there, and (theoretically, assuming you go to the same dr. for years and years like my niece did) the dr. will be better able to see how far from normal the child is.

 

Of course, we move around so much that I don't think that's going to work for us. But anymore I go for a well child visit after we move so I can at least put a physician's name on various forms (Scouts, choir), and say that we actually have a dr. in case anything happens.

[Jennefer@SSA]

Yep, I'd skip it. I prefer to stay out of the doctor's office in and around flu season, anyway.

 

:iagree:

[chanda7]

We only have to pay our co-pay on well-baby visits, so we've gone to all of them except for one that wasn't covered (15 months maybe). We have postponed the yearly checks until after flu season to avoid sickness. These well-checks caught consecutive hernias in my 6yo (years 5 and 6) when they weren't visible (to a parent anyway) and she had no symptoms. Because of their location, she could have easily lost an ovary or worse.

 

I'm not trying to scare you into going, but I want you to know they aren't always pointless. A seemingly healthy child can still have something really wrong with them.

[stripe]

I found my kids' doctor's office to be somewhat frustrating myself, and I ended up feeling like it was an investigation rather than that this was my child, and the real health concerns were one that I identified and had to push to get taken care of. I definitely got the feeling I was pushing myself OUT of the cracks of the bureaucracy.

 

I certainly don't think not going to a well-child exam is child neglect or could be used against you. Not taking the child when sick, however, would be neglectful. Some parents DO need to be told something isn't quite right with their child; I know people who were given suggestions when the child was not speaking much and so on, and that can be helpful.

 

That being said, it's a good place to go if you have one or a few assorted concerns that are not really urgent or an illness, or if you want occasional screenings for things like iron deficiency or vision or whatever.

 

I really like the book "Take Your Pediatrician With You," especially if you do any sort of travel. It's great for families who travel internationally, or how to travel with children with any sort of chronic health issue or disability, but it's great for any family, I think.

[Tracy in Ky]

Yep, I'd skip it. I prefer to stay out of the doctor's office in and around flu season, anyway.

 

Great point!

[Blessedfamily]

We only have to pay our co-pay on well-baby visits, so we've gone to all of them except for one that wasn't covered (15 months maybe). We have postponed the yearly checks until after flu season to avoid sickness. These well-checks caught consecutive hernias in my 6yo (years 5 and 6) when they weren't visible (to a parent anyway) and she had no symptoms. Because of their location, she could have easily lost an ovary or worse.

 

I'm not trying to scare you into going, but I want you to know they aren't always pointless. A seemingly healthy child can still have something really wrong with them.

 

:iagree: I haven't skipped appointments, but I have delayed them(and some immunizations). I appreciate doctors who work with parents if you can find one.

 

However, they do check more than weight and height. At dd's last appointment they checked vision and eye development/tracking and eye disease, hernias, spinal curvature, red blood cell count for anemia(which can cause developmental delays), urine test for diabetes, signs of precocious puberty/premature thelarche which can occur in infants, hearing(there's a new test for this that requires little cooperation), ear disease, and then the usual immunizations, developmental milestones, weight and height.

 

We only have to pay a copay. I understand some people have to pay a lot more and I think it's a shame. I do try to avoid Dr.'s during flu season even though our pediatrician has a separate waiting area and separate examing rooms for contagious stuff. I'm going to take my chances with the 12mo in a few weeks because there's not much going around in my area right now, but 15 mos would be in the worst part of flu season and we'll delay that.

Edited October 29, 2008 by Blessedfamily

[Jennifer in MI]

No. In your situation, I wouldn't go this time. But I don't think all well-child visits are a scam.

 

I must say I'm shocked! I think well-child checkups are important. I would skip one here or there, but I would not just wholesale disregard them whether I vaccinated or not.

 

I'm not shocked (I have a good friend who skipped all well-child visits, so I've heard it before), but I also think that there is a place for them.

 

Y'know, my SIL pointed out that it's nice for the doctor to see and get to know your child while he/she is healthy. That way when you go in with a sick child there's a relationship there, and (theoretically, assuming you go to the same dr. for years and years like my niece did) the dr. will be better able to see how far from normal the child is.

.

 

We do well-child visits for this exact reason. I want a relationship with my doctor. I want my kids to know the doctor so they aren't scared. I also go because I want to have it on record that we go. I guess I'm a bit nervous because we do a number of things that are different from the norm (extended breastfeeding, delayed vaccines, homeschooling, etc). If we are ever turned in to social services or anything, I want a doctor on my side!!

 

I've been able to use that on more than one occasion at the ER when they look at me funny when I admit they aren't caught up on vaccines! When I say we're working with our doctor, they're fine!!

 

I also go because there are things that the doctor can catch if we go - heart issues, hernias, etc. before the kids show symptoms.

[Gamom3]

I know here they do well-child check-ups.

My kids only during their first year. After that we went to the Health Dept. for shots.

Our insurance doesn't pay for Well-child check ups or shots!

[Melinda in VT]

I think the OP is fine to skip this one, but I do think well-child checks are important.

 

My son's near-sightedness was discovered at a well-child check, even though DH and I were looking for signs of it at home.

 

My daughter's heart murmur was discovered at age 3. Although it turned out to be innocent, the pediatric cardiologist initially diagnosed her with a bicuspid aortic valve. Had that been the case, she would have needed antibiotics before seeing the dentist, among other precautions.

[Renee in NC]

I must say I'm shocked! I think well-child checkups are important. I would skip one here or there, but I would not just wholesale disregard them whether I vaccinated or not.

 

I won't say they're not important, but I do know that my dc tend to get sick after their well-child checks. And we've talked about the $385 bill before!;)

 

If I had private insurance that paid for well-child checks, I would probably go more often. As it is, I try to use what we have as little as possible.

[Blessedfamily]

The choices people have to make are just....horrible. People may only have to pay a co-pay for the Dr. visits, but when the mothly premium is $500 out of your pocket, you're paying for the visits anyway. What can you do, though? It's a necessity.

 

I'm not trying to get too far off topic, but some families are really struggling with this and that's sad.

[5Youngs]

I only did the 6 week well-baby check ups with my last three. I got tired of the fight about vaccinations.

 

Us too.

When did we accept that we should go to the Dr if we aren't having a problem?

[Alice]

Well...as some know I'm a pediatrician so I say ABSOLUTELY NOT. :lol:

 

Just kidding. Sort of. I do think they are important. If you are lucky and your child is healthy they probably are a waste of time...they will do height/weight/vaccinations if you do them and developmental check. And most of the time mom's have a great sixth sense for knowing if there is something wrong or not with their child.

 

However, I have many times diagnosed kids with issues at well-checks that their parents were not concerned about (they did not ask about or had not noticed). None of these were kids whose parents were in any way neglectful or not attentive. And many were people who had multiple kids, so were experienced. A short list of the top of my head: many different kinds of non-innocent heart murmurs, many cases of scoliosis, craniosynostosis (potentially serious early closure of skull sutures), anemia, several cases of autism, diabetes, thyroid disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, Langerhans Cell Histiocytoisis , hematuria (blood in the urine).

 

I practice what I preach. I take both my boys in for all their WCCs to be seen by another doctor.

 

I'm not at all trying to make you feel guilty. I just felt like I needed to chime in with a different point of view after the 5 pages of "it's a waste of time and only to put money in the doctors' pockets" posts. ;)

 

I do know it's a struggle for many families with insurance issues. I think you said your child was 1..I think postponing the check-up a few months would be fine if you are trying to wait until next year with a new deductbile. The other thing to do would be to talk to your doctor about getting a reduced fee. We are willing to give reduced fees or waive fees, especially for well care which we feel is important. There might be some options for you. We are almost always able to work something out with families.

Edited October 30, 2008 by Alice

[Renee in NC]

Well...as some know I'm a pediatrician so I say ABSOLUTELY NOT. :lol:

 

Just kidding. Sort of. I do think they are important. If you are lucky and your child is healthy they probably are a waste of time...they will do height/weight/vaccinations if you do them and developmental check. And most of the time mom's have a great sixth sense for knowing if there is something wrong or not with their child.

 

However, I have many times diagnosed kids with issues at well-checks that their parents were not concerned about (they did not ask about or had not noticed). None of these were kids whose parents were in any way neglectful or not attentive. And many were people who had multiple kids, so were experienced. A short list of the top of my head: many different kinds of non-innocent heart murmurs, many cases of scoliosis, craniosynostosis (potentially serious early closure of skull sutures), anemia, several cases of autism, diabetes, thyroid disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, Langerhans Cell Histiocytoisis , hematuria (blood in the urine).

 

I practice what I preach. I take both my boys in for all their WCCs to be seen by another doctor.

 

I'm not at all trying to make you feel guilty.

 

I can see the need, sure. My now 7yo's Failure to Thrive issues were caught early because he *did* get his 9 month well-child checkup. I might not have noticed a problem until much later, when "fixing it" could have taken a lot longer. By the time he actually started having obvious problems, he was already being seen and it was dealt with ASAP.

 

However, I see the other side as well - what do you do when you can't afford it? The OP has a genuine problem.

 

ETA: Am I missing the endings of all posts today or are people editing faster than I type an answer?!?!

[Alice]

:lol:

 

I accidentally hit post and then went back and finished what I wanted to say. I must have been editing as you were typing. Life at the speed of DSL...

[Kris]

If you are lucky and your child is healthy they probably are a waste of time...

 

Not picking on you, honest --

 

This caught my eye and I can't stop thinking about it. Is it luck to have a healthy kid? I don't mean as in "I'm such a great Mom my kids are healthy." I mean as in -- are healthy kids really that rare? I think of "luck" as winning the lottery -- without a lot of luck, that ain't happenin'. Is having a healthy kid anymore really like winning the lottery?

 

Or do I just need more coffee? :lol:

[mommaduck]

I'd say that it's up to you. If there is something that is concerning you and you can't find answers anywhere else, then take the child. If you are talking just waiting a few months, that's not a big deal. If you know what you are looking for, etc, don't worry about ;) I'm a mom of 7 and I've picked up on possible craniosynostosis, so I'm taking my child in. But a couple of my children have only seen their doctor for illnesses or normal child issues that creep up. Their doctor also told me not to worry about making well-checks for any of them as she knows that I typically bring several to all of them with me when we come in. That's when she gets to say hello to them, ask them how they've been, how school is, do they like their new sibling type thing.

[Renee in NC]

At least I know I am not going crazy!!!! (Or would that be crazier?)

[Alice]

Not picking on you, honest --

 

This caught my eye and I can't stop thinking about it. Is it luck to have a healthy kid? I don't mean as in "I'm such a great Mom my kids are healthy." I mean as in -- are healthy kids really that rare? I think of "luck" as winning the lottery -- without a lot of luck, that ain't happenin'. Is having a healthy kid anymore really like winning the lottery?

 

Or do I just need more coffee? :lol:

 

No offense taken. I didn't really think that much about the word "lucky" when I used it. I guess my point was just that most of the time (I don't know actual statistics...90-95% or more I would guess just from completely non-scientific observation) kids are healthy and there is nothing to "miss" by not being checked regulalry. But there are the rare times where there is something that can be detected at a check-up. And I've found that usually the parent is unaware, even when they are a "good" parent and even in a very experienced parent. The kid with craniosynostosis was in a family of 7, a child with severe scoliosis at age 5 was in a family of 8, etc.

 

Maybe it's also from a pediatrician's standpoint...no it's not that rare to have a healthy kid. But I'm also very aware that any day that could change for me as a parent. Every day I am incredibly grateful and thankful for the blessing (or luck from a non-religious perspective) of having healthy kids. When you see kids who are very very ill on a regular basis, it's easy to be slightly skewed in perspective.

[Scuff]

To me, well visits are important for a few reasons. You're establishing a relationship with the Dr. The Dr's getting to know you and your kids and you her/him. And the Dr can catch problems you may have missed otherwise. I have scoliosis that was discovered at a well visit/physical, for example. It's important that my children get this continued care, just in case. I don't want something to go undetected and then they be worse off because of it. It's also important to find a Dr. you like and trust. We've been blessed to find a very good Dr that we're very happy with. That said, I don't think missing one visit is that big of a deal. And if it's food or the DR, I'd skip the Dr, since you're pretty sure the child is fine. We did miss a few a couple years ago when we had a lot going on in our lives.

[Word Nerd]

This is the first year we've skipped well-child visits, and my kids are 3 and 7. In general, though, we go annually or when necessary. I've had the same ped. since my older DD was born, and I like keeping their medical records up-to-date and having an ongoing relationship with a doctor.

[lighthouseacademy]

:leaving: