For Expecting Parents
Expecting a baby?
Here’s Everything You Need to Know
Congratulations! Having a baby and becoming a parent is an incredibly rewarding and humbling experience. We consider ourselves blessed to be able to share in this experience with you. Our desire is to make this experience as easy and stress-free as possible. On this page you can find out what you need to know about our practice and how things work when you have a baby.
Our care for your child begins before he or she is born.
Before delivery
We offer a variety of prenatal services aimed at keeping you and your baby healthy and getting off to the healthiest possible start in life. Learn about all that is available to you.
We encourage you to schedule a free prenatal visit. You can see our office, meet a provider and members of our team, and ask any questions you might have. You will also receive a copy of our newborn booklet free of charge. It answers the most common questions regarding what happens in the hospital after delivery, breastfeeding, and how to care for your newborn baby.
We offer recommended vaccines (Tdap and flu) for pregnant women and fathers as well. Read more about our BabyShield program.
We have breastfeeding and newborn care classes for parents before (or after) delivery. Learn more and register for a class here.
You can learn all about newborn care, breastfeeding, and more in our resource center.
You do not need to do anything in particular to register with our practice before your baby arrives. Just bring your insurance information and the baby’s hospital discharge paperwork with you to your first visit. Newborns should be seen 1-3 days after hospital discharge.
After delivery
The hospital will ask you who you have chosen as your baby’s doctor. If you are delivering at Piedmont Henry Hospital and list Dr. Pulliam as the baby’s doctor, then the hospital will call us when the baby is born, and we will see the baby within 24 hours of delivery. If you are delivering at another hospital, the pediatrician on call that day will see your baby, unless you designate another pediatrician in the area and on staff that you happen to know. Our newborn book describes all the things that will happen to your baby in the hospital.
Your baby’s first visit to our practice should be within 1-3 days after leaving the hospital. If someone at the hospital tells you one week or two weeks, they are incorrect and are not following current guidelines. We agree with the current guidelines and want to see your baby within 2-3 days of discharge, or sooner if there is jaundice, breastfeeding problems, or any other concerns or questions. We always have openings to see newborns.
We have lactation consultants here in our breastfeeding center who can see you and your baby and treat any breastfeeding problem you may have. Many moms just need reassurance that it is going well. Visits are covered by most insurance plans since we are a medical breastfeeding practice.
Newborns are sometimes covered under their mother’s insurance for the first 30 days. You must contact your employer to get the baby added before he/she is 30 days old or your baby could be without coverage. We accept most insurance plans; an updated list is here on our website.
We care about moms and the whole family! Since mothers are in our office much more frequently than their own doctor, we help postpartum moms with screening for postpartum depression and getting the help they need to care for their baby and their own health.
New to Our Practice?
If you are new to our practice, the forms and information you need as a new patient can be found here. You may want to visit the Office Policies section of our website to familiarize yourself with how our office works. You also may want to visit our FAQ page for answers to the most commonly asked questions.