Newborn Care
Congratulations on the birth of your baby!
At CCP, we love babies, and we love helping parents care for their newborns and answering all your questions. We want you to feel confident as a parent, and for your baby to make the best start in life possible. In fact, we have designed a complete newborn and infant care program called BestStartBabies! Learn more about this innovative program.
If you are still pregnant, be sure to learn about our special prenatal services.
We know this is a hectic and tiring time for you. We want to make it as smooth as possible. We make it easy to get your newborn established here. Here is all the information you need.
Hospital visit
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.
Schedule your first office visit
All newborns need to be seen 1-3 days after hospital discharge. Some babies need to be seen 1 day after discharge, such as cases of jaundice, breastfeeding issues, or other concerns noted in the hospital. Otherwise, normal newborns should be seen within 2-3 days after discharge to check for feeding problems, amount of weight loss, jaundice, heart conditions, signs of infection, and other issues. We use open-access scheduling and always have appointments available for newborns; just call our office at (770) 389-4543 to schedule an appointment.
Newborn infants may be covered under the mother’s insurance plan for the first 30 days or may be covered as long as you add your baby during the first 30 days of life. You need to be sure that your baby has been added to your plan before the baby is 30 days old or you could face significant out-of-pocket expenses.
Caring for Your Baby
We have a newborn handbook for you. Written by Dr. Pulliam and continually revised and updated, it answers all the common questions and provides guidelines for normal newborn care. We also include handouts at every visit with information on how to keep your baby healthy and safe, how to care for your baby at that specific age, and what to expect over the next few months. We want you to feel confident and secure as you parent your new baby.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding? We have information for you in our Breastfeeding Center. Visits with a board-certified lactation consultants for both mother and baby are available and are covered by insurance plans in our medical breastfeeding practice.
Well Child Visits
Well child visits are an essential part of keeping infants and children healthy. Besides vaccines, we check growth, development, and every body system as they grow and change. Children are not little adults and detecting problems early is crucial in a growing and developing body and brain or permanent problems can develop. Many parents of newborns want to know the schedule of visits. After the hospital follow-up visit and any further visits for problems, the first scheduled well visit is at 2 weeks of age, then at one month old. A full schedule is available here. You can get an overview of the whole first year here.